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OF  THE 


There  are  but  four  hundred  and  fifty  complete  sets  niaae  for 
the  world,  of  which  this  is  copy 

150 


]Sl0K^R(E]^A 


AJJOLO-SAXON  CLASSICS 


THE   NINE    BOOKS 

OF 

THE  DANISH  HISTORY 

OP 

Saxo  Grammaticus 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES 


TRANSLATED  BY 


OLIVER  ELTON,  B.A. 

SOMETIME  SCHOLAR  OF  CORPUS  CHRISTI  COLLEGE,  OXFORD,  AND  LECTTTKER 

ON  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  AT  THE  OWENS  COLLEGE  (VICTORIA 

university),  MANCHESTER 


WITH  SOME  CONSIDER  A  TIONS  ON  SAXO'S  SOURCES, 
HISTORICAL  METHODS,  AND  FOLK-LORE 

t 

BY 

FREDERICK  YORK  POWELL,  M.A.,  F.S.A. 

STUDENT  OF  CHRIST  CHURCH,  OXFORD 


HON.  RASMUS  B.  ANDERSON,  LL.D.,  Ph.D. 

EDITOR  IN   CHIEF 

J.  W.  BUEL,  Ph.D. 

MANAGING  EDITOR 


;VOL.    II 

J'  


PUBLISHED  BT  THE 

NORRCENA    SOCIETY 

LONDON  COPENHAGEN  STOCKHOLM  BERLIN  NEW  YORK 


58123 


Saio*'6rammaticu9 

The  most  ornate  and  symbolic  binding  that  belongs  to  the 
art  of  the  Seventeenth  Century  is  reproduced  for  "Saxo 
Grammaticus."  The  original  was  used  on  a  foHo  edition 
of  Soriano's  Masses,  for  Pope  Paul  V  (Camillo  Borghese, 
1609),  and  though  the  Vatican  should  own  it,  the  book  is 
in  the  British  Museum.  The  features  of  this  unique  design 
are  a  Borghese  coat-of-arms  surmounted  by  the  Papal  tiara 
and  the  crossed  keys  of  St.  Peter.  The  papal  arms  are  en- 
closed in  a  narrow  fillet  frame-work,  in  which  are  four  sym- 
bolic cameos,  illustrative  of  the  Crucifixion,  Mater 
Dolorosa,  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  that  identify  the  design 
with  the  work  it  so  attractively  decorates.  The  irregular 
spaces  are  filled  with  richly  ornamental  tooled  work,  repre- 
senting conventional  sprays,  scattered  among  which  are 
cherubs,  couchant  lions,  stoats,  Pandean  pipes,  baldacchinos, 
dragons  and  fleurs-de-lis.  The  workmanship,  like  the  de- 
sign, is  of  such  astonishing  excellence  that  it  is  a  matter  of 
great    regret  the  names  of  the  artists  are  not  now  known. 


C9PYRir;nT 

T.    H.    SMART 

1905 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


SAXO   GRAMMATICUS. 


VOL;    II. 

continuation  from  Vol.  1)  - 

FRQDE.  KUMP.L^S   HIMSELF   BEFORE  ;ERIK. 

{From  the  Painting   by  P.  N.  Arbo.) 

ONE- of  the  greatest   and  most  magnanimous  ci  :;?•-'.■ .-,    in 
=^axo's    history   is    Erik,   son    of    Ragnar,    king   of,  Sweden. 
3   other*  of   hi's'  valorous    deeds  "was   thdt'  of"  "cohquering 
fspde,  king  of^  Denmark,  who  was  so  humiliated  by  hi;Si  defeat 
that    he    threatened    to    destroy    himself;    but    Erik    generously 

i„_,,4      T?..      ,1,.     f^     I,;c-     i".^,-,-.i,^r      fKrrnWir     ^^•l^ir•^^      Qn      clatcd     thC     king 

'      lowed  upon  him 
many  honors. 

.SlUllb    lU 

'  Wonderful 

!>   of  the  G- 
auix  ii — iDaxu  ::  rxuiui 
X  III— The 
1  Characters  axo's  I 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


SAXO   GRAMMATICUS. 


VOL.    II. 

Page 
Book  V— (continuation  from  Vol.  I) 299 

Book  VI   347 

Book  VII   409 

Book  VIII 471 

Book  IX  539 

Appendix  I — Passages  from  later  books  of  Saxo: 

Story  of  Toke  and  the  Apple 577 

Allusions  to  the  Niflung  Story 578 

The  Wonderful  Statue  of  the  God  Suanto-Vitus.  .579 

The  Image   (idol)   of  the  God  Rugie-Vitus 584 

Appendix  II — Saxo's  Hamlet,  with  Critical  Annotations.587 

Appendix  III— The  Tale  of  Thorstan  Shiver G03 

Index  to  Characters  and  Places  in  Saxo's  History 609 


LIST   OF   PHOTOGRAVURES. 


VOL.    II. 


Frontispiece — Frode  Humbles  Himself  before  Erik. 

Page 

Duel  Between  Hame  and  Starkad 371 

Battle  of  Bravalla 479 

Ragner's  Peril  in  Permland 554 


BOOK  V. 


\Continiied  from   Vol.  I.) 

The  king  prepared  to  give  them  chase  with  his  mutil- 
ated ships,  but  soon  the  waves  broke  through ;  and  though 
he  was  very  heavily  laden  with  his  armour,  he  began  to 
swim  off  among  the  rest,  having  become  more  anxious 
to  save  his  own  life  than  to  attack  that  of  others.  The 
bows  plunged  over  into  the  sea,  the  tide  flooded  in  and 
swept  the  rowers  from  their  seats.  When  Erik  and 
Roller  saw  this  they  instantly  flung  themselves  into  the 
deep  water,  spurning  danger,  and  by  swimming  picked 
up  the  king,  who  was  tossing  about.  Thrice  the  waves 
had  poured  over  him  and  borne  him  down  when  Erik 
caught  him  by  the  hair,  and  lifted  him  out  of  the  sea. 
The  remaining  crowd  of  the  wrecked  either  sank  in  the 
waters,  or  got  with  trouble  to  the  land.  The  king  was 
stripped  of  his  dripping  attire  and  swathed  round  with 
dry  garments,  and  the  water  poured  in  floods  from  his 
chest  as  he  kept  belching  it ;  his  voice  also  seemed  to  fail 
under  the  exhaustion  of  continual  pantings.  At  last  heat 
was  restored  to  his  limbs,  which  were  numbed  with  cold, 
and  his  breathing  became  quicker.  He  had  not  fully  got 
back  his  strength,  and  could  sit  but  not  rise.  Gradually 
his  native  force  returned.     But  when  he  was  asked  at 

299 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

last  whether  he  sued  for  life  and  grace,  he  put  his  hand 
to  his  eyes,  and  strove  to  Hft  up  their  downcast  gaze. 
But  as,  Httle  by  httle,  power  came  back  to  his  body,  and 
as  his  voice  became  more  assured,  he  said : 

"By  this  Hght,  which  I  am  loth  to  look  on,  by  this 
heaven   which   I   behold   and   drink    in   with   little   joy, 
I  beseech  and  conjure  you  not  to  persuade  me  to  use 
either  any  more.     I  wished  to  die;  ye  have  saved  me  in 
vain.     I  was  not  allowed  to  perish  in  the  waters ;  at  least 
I  will  die  by  the  sword.     I  was  unconquered  before; 
thine,  Erik,  was  the  first  wit  to  which  I  yielded :  I  was 
all  the  more  unhappy,  because  I  had  never  been  beaten  by 
men  of  note,  and  now  I  let  a  low-born  man  defeat  me. 
This  is  great  cause  for  a  king  to  be  ashamed.     This  is  a 
good  and  sufficient  reason  for  a  general  to  die ;  it  is  right 
that  he  should  care  for  nothing  so  much  as  glory.     If  he 
want  that,  then  take  it  that  he  lacks  all  else.     For  nothing 
about   a  king  is   more  on   men's   lips   than   his   repute. 
I   was  credited  with   the  height  of  understanding  and 
eloquence.     But  I  have  been  stripped  of  both  the  things 
wherein  I  was  thought  to  excel,  and  am  all  the  more 
miserable  because  I,  the  conqueror  of  kings,  am  seen  ccm- 
quered  by  a  peasant.     Why  grant  life  to  him  whom  thou 
hast    robbed    of    honour?     I    have    lost   sister,   realm, 
treasure,  household  gear,  and,  what  is  greater  than  them 
all,  renown:  I  am  luckless  in  all  chances,  and  in  all  thy 
good  fortune  is  confessed.     Why  am  I  to  be  kept  to  live 
on  for  all  this  ignominy  ?     What  freedom  can  be  so  happy 
for  me  that  it  can  wipe  out  all  the  shame  of  captivity? 
What  will  all  the  following  time  bring  for  me?  It  can  be- 


300 


BOOK  FIVE 

get  nothing  but  long  remorse  in  my  mind,  and  will  savour 
only  of  past  woes.  What  will  prolonging  of  life  avail, 
if  it  only  brings  back  the  memory  of  sorrow?  To  the 
stricken  nought  is  pleasanter  than  death,  and  that  decease 
is  happy  which  comes  at  a  man's  wish,  for  it  cuts  not 
short  any  sweetness  of  his  days,  but  annihilates  his 
disgust  at  all  things.  Life  in  prosperity,  but  death  in 
adversity,  is  best  to  seek.  No  hope  of  better  things 
tempts  me  to  long  for  life.  What  hap  can  quite  repair 
my  shattered  fortunes  ?  And  by  now,  had  ye  not  rescued 
me  in  my  peril,  I  should  have  forgotten  even  these.  What 
though  thou  shouldst  give  me  back  my  realm,  restore 
my  sister,  and  renew  my  treasure?  thou  canst  never  repair 
my  renown.  Nothing  that  is  patched  up  can  have  the 
lustre  of  the  unimpaired,  and  rumour  will  recount  for  ages 
that  Frode  was  taken  captive.  Moreover,  if  ye  reckon 
the  calamities  I  have  inflicted  on  you.  I  have  deserved  to 
die  at  your  hands ;  if  ye  recall  the  harms  I  have  done,  ye 
will  repent  your  kindness.  Ye  will  be  ashamed  of  having 
aided  a  foe,  if  ye  consider  how  savagely  he  treated  you. 
Why  do  ye  spare  the  guilty?  Why  do  ye  stay  your  hand 
from  the  throat  of  your  persecutor  ?  It  is  fitting  that  the 
lot  which  I  had  prepared  for  you  should  come  home  to 
myself.  I  own  that  if  I  had  happened  to  have  you  in  my 
power  as  ye  now  have  me,  I  should  have  paid  no  heed  to 
compassion.  But  if  I  am  innocent  before  you  in  act,  I 
am  guilty  at  least  in  will.  I  pray  you,  let  my  wrongful 
intention,  which  sometimes  is  counted  to  stand  for  the 
deed,  recoil  upon  me.  If  ye  refuse  me  death  by  the  sword 
I  will  take  care  to  kill  myself  with  my  own  hand." 

301 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

Erik  rejoined  thus:  "I  pray  that  the  gods  may  turn 
thee  from  the  folly  of  thy  purpose ;  turn  thee,  I  say,  that 
thou  mayst  not  try  to  end  a  most  glorious  life  abominably. 
Why,  surely  the  gods  themselves  have  forbidden  that  a 
man  v^'ho  is  kind  to  others  should  commit  unnatural 
self-murder.  Fortune  has  tried  thee  to  find  out  with 
what  spirit  thou  wouldst  meet  adversity.  Destiny  has 
proved  thee,  not  brought  thee  low.  No  sorrow  has  been 
inflicted  on  thee  which  a  happier  lot  cannot  efface.  Thy 
prosperity  has  not  been  changed;  only  a  warning  has 
been  given  thee.  No  man  behaves  with  self-control  in 
prosperity  who  has  not  learnt  to  endure  adversity.  Besides, 
the  whole  use  of  blessings  is  reaped  after  misfortunes 
have  been  graciously  acknowledged.  Sweeter  is  the  joy 
which  follows  on  the  bitterness  of  fate.  Wilt  thou  shun 
thy  life  because  thou  hast  once  had  a  drenching,  and  the 
waters  closed  over  thee?  But  if  the  waters  can  crush 
thy  spirit,  when  wilt  thou  with  calm  courage  bear  the 
sword?  Who  would  not  reckon  swimming  away  in 
his  armour  more  to  his  glory  than  to  his  shame?  How 
many  men  would  think  themselves  happy  were  they 
unhappy  with  thy  fortune?  The  sovereignty  is  still 
thine ;  thy  courage  is  in  its  prime ;  thy  years  are  ripening ; 
thou  canst  hope  to  compass  more  than  thou  hast  yet 
achieved.  I  would  not  find  thee  fickle  enough  to  wish, 
not  only  to  shun  hardships,  but  also  to  fling  away  thy 
life,  because  thou  couldst  not  bear  them.  None  is  so 
unmanly  as  he  who  from  fear  of  adversity  loses  heart  to 
live.  No  wise  man  makes  up  for  his  calamities  by  dying. 
Wrath  against  another  is  foolish,   but  against  a  man's 

302 


BOOK  FIVE 

self  it  is  foolhardy ;  and  it  is  a  coward  frenzy  which  dooms 
its  owner.  But  if  thou  go  without  need  to  thy  death  for 
some  wrong  suffered,  or  for  some  petty  perturbation  of 
spirit,  whom  dost  thou  leave  behind  to  avenge  thee? 
Who  is  so  mad  that  he  would  wish  to  punish  the  fickle- 
ness of  fortune  by  destroying  himself?  What  man  has 
lived  so  prosperously  but  that  ill  fate  has  sometimes 
stricken  him?  Hast  thou  enjoyed  felicity  unbroken  and 
passed  thy  days  without  a  shock,  and  now,  upon  a  slight 
cloud  of  sadness,  dost  thou  prepare  to  quit  thy  life,  only 
to  save  thy  anguish?  If  thou  bear  trifles  so  ill,  how 
shalt  thou  endure  the  heavier  frowns  of  fortune?  Callow 
is  the  man  who  has  never  tasted  of  the  cup  of  sorrow; 
and  no  man  who  has  not  suffered  hardships  is  temperate  in 
enjoying  ease.  Wilt  thou,  who  shouldst  have  been  a 
pillar  of  courage,  show  a  sign  of  a  palsied  spirit?  Born 
of  a  brave  sire,  wilt  thou  display  utter  impotence?  Wilt 
thou  fall  so  far  from  thy  ancestors  as  to  turn  softer  than 
women?  Hast  thou  not  yet  begun  thy  prime,  and  art 
thou  already  taken  with  weariness  of  life?  Whoever 
set  such  an  example  before?  Shall  the  grandson  of  a 
famous  man,  and  the  child  of  the  unvanquished,  be  too 
weak  to  endure  a  slight  gust  of  adversity?  Thy  nature 
portrays  the  courage  of  thy  sires;  none  has  conquered 
thee,  only  thine  own  heedlessness  has  hurt  thee.  We 
snatched  thee  from  peril,  we  did  not  subdue  thee;  wilt 
thou  give  us  hatred  for  love,  and  set  our  friendship  down 
as  wrongdoing?  Our  service  should  have  appeased  thee, 
and  not  troubled  thee.  May  the  gods  never  desire  thee  to 
go  so  far  in  frenzy,  as  to  persist  in  branding  thy  preserver 

503 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

as  a  traitor!  Shall  we  be  guilty  before  thee  in  a 
matter  wherein  we  do  thee  good  ?  Shall  we  draw  anger 
on  us  for  our  service?  Wilt  thou  account  him  thy  foe 
whom  thou  hast  to  thank  for  thy  life?  For  thou  wert 
not  free  when  we  took  thee,  but  in  distress,  and  we  came 
in  time  to  help  thee.  And,  behold,  I  restore  thy  treasure, 
thy  wealth,  thy  goods.  If  thou  thinkest  thy  sister  was 
betrothed  to  me  over-hastily,  let  her  marry  the  man  whom 
thou  commandest;  for  her  chastity  remains  inviolate. 
Moreover,  if  thou  wilt  accept  me,  I  wish  to  fight  for  thee. 
Beware  lest  thou  wrongfully  steel  thy  mind  in  anger.  No 
loss  of  power  has  shattered  thee,  none  of  thy  freedom  has 
been  forfeited.  Thou  shalt  see  that  I  am  obeying,  not 
commanding  thee.  I  agree  to  any  sentence  thou  mayst 
pronounce  against  my  life.  Be  assured  that  thou  art  as 
strong  here  as  in  thy  palace;  thou  hast  the  same  power 
to  rule  here  as  in  thy  court.  Enact  concerning  us  here 
whatsoever  would  have  been  thy  will  in  the  palace:  we 
are  ready  to  obey."     Thus  much  said  Erik. 

Now  this  speech  softened  tlie  king  towards  himself  as 
much  as  towards  his  foe.  Then,  everything  being 
arranged  and  made  friendly,  they  returned  to  the  shore. 
The  king  ordered  that  Erik  and  his  sailors  should  be 
taken  in  carriages.  But  when  they  reached  the  palace  he 
had  an  assembly  summoned,  to  which  he  called  Erik,  and 
under  the  pledge  of  betrothal  gave  him  his  sister  and 
command  over  a  hundred  men.  Then  he  added  that  the 
queen  would  be  a  weariness  to  him,  and  that  the  daughter 
of  Gotar  had  taken  his  liking.  He  must,  therefore,  have 
a  fresh  embassy,  and  the  business  could  best  be  done  by 

304 


BOOK  FIVE 

Erik,  for  whose  efforts  nothing  seemed  too  hard.  He 
also  said  that  he  would  stone  Gotwar  to  death  for  her 
complicity  in  concealing  the  crime ;  but  Hanund  he  would 
restore  to  her  father,  tliat  he  might  not  have  a  traitress 
against  his  life  dwelling  amongst  the  Danes.  Erik- 
approved  his  plans,  and  promised  his  help  to  carry  out 
his  bidding;  except  that  he  declared  that  it  would  be 
better  to  marry  the  queen,  when  she  had  been  put  away, 
to  Roller,  of  wdiom  his  sovereignty  need  have  no  fears. 
This  opinion  Erode  received  reverentially,  as  though  it 
were  some  lesson  vouchsafed  from  above.  The  queen 
also,  that  she  might  not  seem  to  be  driven  by  compulsion, 
complied,  as  w^omen  will,  and  declared  that  there  was  no 
natural  necessity  to  grieve,  and  that  all  distress  of  spirit 
was  a  creature  of  fancy :  and.  moreover,  that  one  ought 
not  to  bewail  the  punishment  that  befell  one's  deserts. 
And  so  the  brethren  celebrated  their  marriages  together, 
one  wedding  the  sister  of  the  king,  and  the  other  his 
divorced  queen. 

Then  they  sailed  back  to  Norway,  taking  their  wives 
with  them.  Eor  the  women  could  not  be  torn  from  the 
side  of  their  husbands,  either  by  distance  of  journey  or 
by  dread  of  peril,  but  declared  that  they  would  stick  to 
their  lords  like  a  feather  to  something  shaggy.  They 
found  that  Ragnar  was  dead,  and  that  Kraka  had  already 
married  one  Brak.  Then  they  remembered  the  father's 
treasure,  dug  up  the  money,  and  bore  it  off.  But  Erik's 
fame  had  gone  before  him,  and  Gotar  had  learnt  all  his 
good  fortune.  Now  when  Gotar  learnt  that  he  had  come 
himself,  he  feared  that  his  immense  self-confidence  would 

305 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

lead  him  to  plan  the  worst  against  the  Norwegians,  and 
was  anxious  to  take  his  wife  from  him  and  marry  him  to 
his  own  daughter  in  her  place:  for  his  queen  had  just 
died,  and  he  was  anxious  to  marry  the  sister  of  Frode 
more  than  anyone.  Erik,  when  he  learnt  of  his  purpose, 
called  his  men  together,  and  told  them  that  his  fortune 
had  not  yet  got  off  from  the  reefs.  Also  he  said  that  he 
saw,  that  as  a  bundle  that  was  not  tied  by  a  band  fell  to 
pieces,  so  likewise  the  heaviest  punishment  that  was  not 
constrained  on  a  man  by  his  own  fault  suddenly  collapsed. 
They  had  experienced  this  of  late  with  Frode;  for  they 
saw  how  at  the  hardest  pass  their  innocence  had  been 
protected  by  the  help  of  the  gods ;  and  if  they  continued 
to  preserve  it  they  should  hope  for  like  aid  in  their  adver- 
sity. Next,  they  must  pretend  flight  for  a  little  while,  if 
they  were  attacked  by  Gotar,  for  so  they  would  have  a 
juster  plea  for  fighting.  For  they  had  every  right  to 
thrust  out  the  hand  in  order  to  shield  the  head  from  peril. 
Seldom  could  a  man  carry  to  a  successful  end  a  battle  he 
had  begun  against  the  innocent ;  so,  to  give  them  a  better 
plea  for  assaulting  the  enemy,  he  must  be  provoked  to 
attack  them  first. 

Erik  then  turned  to  Gunwar,  and  asked  her, 
in  order  to  test  her  fidelity,  whether  she  had  any  love  for 
Gotar,  telling  her  it  was  unworthy  that  a  maid  of  rayal 
lineage  should  be  bound  to  the  bed  of  a  man  of  the  people. 
Then  she  began  to  conjure  him  earnestly  by  the  power 
of  heaven  to  tell  her  whether  his  purpose  was  true  or 
feigned?  He  said  that  he  had  spoken  seriously,  and  she 
cried  :  "And  so  thou  art  prepared  to  bring  on  me  the  worst 

306 


BOOK  FIVE 

of  shame  by  leaving  me  a  widow,  whom  thou  lovedst 
dearly  as  a  maid!  Common  rumour  often  speaks  false, 
but  I  have  been  wrong  in  my  opinion  of  thee.  I  thought 
I  had  married  a  steadfast  man ;  I  hoped  his  loyalty  was 
past  question ;  but  now  I  find  him  to  be  more  fickle  than 
the  winds."     Saying  this,  she  wept  abundantly. 

Dear  to  Erik  was  his  wife's  fears;  presently  he  em- 
braced her  and  said:  "I  wished  to  know  how  loyal  thou 
wert  to  me.  Nought  but  death  has  the  right  to  sever  us, 
but  Gotar  means  to  steal  thee  away,  seeking  thy  love  by 
robbery.  When  he  has  committed  the  theft,  pretend  it  is 
done  with  thy  goodwill ;  yet  put  off  the  wedding  till  he  has 
given  me  his  daughter  in  thy  place.  When  she  has  been 
granted,  Gotar  and  I  will  hold  our  marriage  on  the  same 
day.  And  take  care  that  thou  prepare  rooms  for  our 
banqueting  which  have  a  common  party-wall,  yet  are 
separate:  lest  perchance,  if  I  were  before  thine  eyes,  thou 
shouldst  ruffle  the  king  with  thy  lukewarm  looks  at  him. 
For  this  will  be  a  most  effective  trick  to  baffle  the  wish  of 
the  ravisher."  Then  he  bade  Brak  (one  of  his  men),  to 
lie  in  ambush  not  far  from  the  palace  with  a  chosen  band 
of  his  quickest  men,  that  he  might  help  him  at  need. 

Then  he  summoned  Roller,  and  fled  in  his  ship  with  his 
wife  and  all  his  goods,  in  order  to  tempt  the  king  out, 
pretending  panic.  So,  when  he  saw  that  the  fleet  of 
Gotar  was  pressing  him  hard,  he  said :  "Behold  how  the 
bow  of  guile  shooteth  the  shaft  of  treachery;"  and 
instantly  rousing  his  sailors  with  the  war-shout,  he  steered 
the  ship  about.  Gotar  came  close  up  to  him  and  asked 
who  was  the  pilot  of  the  ship,  and  he  was  told  that  it  was 

307 


$AXO  GRAMMATICUS 

Erik.  He  also  shouted  a  question  whether  he  was  the 
same  man  who  by  his  marvellous  speaking  could  silence 
the  eloquence  of  all  other  men.  Erik,  when  he  heard 
this,  replied  that  he  had  long  since  received  the  surname 
of  the  "Shrewd-spoken,"  and  that  he  had  not  won  the 
auspicious  title  for  nothing.  Then  both  went  back  to  the 
nearest  shore,  where  Gotar,  when  he  learnt  the  mission 
of  Erik,  said  that  he  wished  for  the  sister  of  Erode,  but  . 
would  rather  offer  his  own  daughter  to  Frode's  envoy,  [ 
that  Erik  might  not  repent  the  passing  of  his  own  wife  to 
another  man.  Thus  it  would  not  be  unfitting  for  the 
fruit  of  the  mission  to  fall  to  the  ambassador. 

Erik,  he  said,  was  delightful  to  him  as  a  son-in-law,  if 
only  he  could  win  alliance  with  Erode  through  Gunwar. 

Erik  lauded  the  kindness  of  the  king  and  approved  his 
judgment,  declaring  he  could  not  have  expected  a  greater 
thing  from  the  immortal  gods  than  what  was  now  offered 
him  unasked.  Still,  he  said,  the  king  must  first  discover 
Gunwar's  own  mind  and  choice.  She  accepted  the  flat- 
teries of  the  king  with  feigned  goodwill,  and  seemed  to 
consent  readily  to  his  suit,  but  besought  him  to  suffer 
H:'--:  3  nuptials  to  precede  hers;  because,  if  Erik's  were 
accomplished  first,  there  would  be  a  better  opportunity  for 
the  king's;  but  chiefly  on  this  account,  that,  if  she  were 
to  marry  again,  she  might  not  be  disgusted  at  her  new  '■ 
marriage  troth  by  the  memory  of  the  old  recurring. 
She  also  declared  it  inexpedient  for  two  sets  of  prepara- 
tions to  be  confounded  in  one  ceremony.  The  king  was 
prevailed  upon  by  her  answers,  and  highly  approved  her 
requests. 

308 


BOOK  FIVE 

Gotar's  constant  talks  with  Erik  furnished  hin1 
with  a  store  of  most  fairshapen  maxims,  wherewith  to 
rejoice  and  refresh  his  mind.  So,  not  satisfied  with 
giving  him  his  daughter  in  marriage  he  also  made  over  to 
him  the  district  of  Lither,  thinking  that  their  connection 
deserved  some  kindness.  Now  Kraka,  whom  Erik, 
because  of  her  cunning  in  witchcraft,  had  brought  with 
him  on  his  travels,  feigned  weakness  of  the  eyes,  and 
muffled  up  her  face  in  her  cloak,  so  that  not  a  single 
particle  of  her  head  was  visible  for  recognition.  When 
people  asked  her  who  she  was,  she  said  that  she  was 
Gunwar's  sister,  child  of  the  same  mother  but  a  different 
father. 

Now -when  they  came  to  the  dw^elling  of  Gotar,  the 
wedding- feast  of  Alfhild  (this  was  his  daughter's  name) 
was  being  held.  Erik  and  the  king  sat  at  meat  in  different 
rooms,  with  a  party-wall  in  common,  and  also  entirely 
covered  on  the  inside  with  hanging  tapestries.  Gunwar 
sat  by  Gotar,  but  Erik  sat  close  between  Kraka  on  the  one 
side;  and  Alfhild  on  the  other.  Amid  the  merrymaking, 
he  gradually  drew  a  lath  out  of  the  wall,  and  made  an 
opening  large  enough  to  allow  the  passage  of  a  human 
body ;  and  thus,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  guests,  he 
made  a  space  wide  enough  to  go  through.  Then,  in  the 
course  of  the  feast,  he  began  to  question  his  betrothed 
closely  whether  she  would  rather  marry  himself  or  Erode : 
especially  since,  if  due  heed  were  paid  to  matches,  the 
daughter  of  a  king  ought  to  go  to  the  arms  of  one  as 
noble  as  herself,  so  that  the  lowliness  of  one  of  the  pair 
might  not  impair  the  lordliness  of  the  other.     She  said 

2  309 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

that  she  would  never  marry  against  the  permission  of  her 
father;  but  he  turned  her  aversion  into  compHance  by 
promises  that  she  should  be  queen,  and  that  she  should  be 
richer  than  all  other  women,  for  she  was  captivated  by 
the  promise  of  wealth  quite  as  much  as  of  glory.  There 
is  also  a  tradition  that  Kraka  turned  the  maiden's  inclina- 
tions to  Frode  by  a  drink  which  she  mixed  and  gave  to  her. 
Now  Gotar,  after  the  feast,  in  order  to  make  the 
marriage-mirth  go  fast  and  furious,  went  to  the  revel  of 
E>rik.  As  he  passed  out,  Gunwar,  as  she  had  been 
previously  bidden,  went  through  the  hole  in  the  party- 
wall  where  the  lath  had  been  removed,  and  took  the  seat 
next  to  Erik.  Gotar  marvelled  that  she  was  sitting  there 
by  his  side,  and  began  to  ask  eagerly  how  and  why  she 
had  come  there.  She  said  that  she  was  Gunwar's  sister, 
and  that  the  king  was  deceived  by  the  likeness  of  their 
looks.  And  when  the  king,  in  order  to  look  into  the 
matter,  hurried  back  to  the  royal  room,  Gunwar  returned 
through  the  back  door  by  which  she  had  come  and  sat  in 
her  old  place  in  the  sight  of  all.  Gotar,  when  he  saw  her, 
could  scarcely  believe  his  eyes,  and  in  the  utmost  doubt 
whether  he  had  recognized  her  aright,  he  retraced  his 
steps  to  Erik ;  and  there  he  saw  before  him  Gunwar,  who 
had  got  back  in  her  own  fashion.  And  so,  as  often  as  he 
changed  to  go  from  one  hall  to  the  other,  he  found  her 
whom  he  sought  in  either  place.  By  this  time  the  king 
was  tormented  by  great  wonder  at  what  was  no  mere  like- 
ness, but  the  very  same  face  in  both  places.  For  it 
seemed  flatly  impossible  that  different  people  should  look 
exactly  and  undistinguishably  alike.       At  last,  when  the 

310 


BOOK  FIVE 

revel  broke  up,  he  courteously  escorted  his  daughter  and 
Erik  as  far  as  their  room,  as  the  manner  is  at  weddings, 
and  went  back  himself  to  bed  elsewhere. 

But  Erik  suffered  Alfhild,  who  was  destined  for  Erode, 
to  lie  apart,  and  embraced  Gunwar  as  usual,  thus  outwit- 
ting the  king.  So  Gotar  passed  a  slefepless  night,  revolv- 
ing how  he  had  been  apparently  deluded  with  a  dazed 
and  wandering  mind :  for  it  seemed  to  him  no  mere  like- 
ness of  looks,  but  sameness.  Thus  he  was  filled  with 
such  wavering  and  doubtful  judgment,  that  though  he 
really  discerned  the  truth  he  thought  he  must  have  been 
mistaken.  At  last  it  flashed  across  his  mind  that  the  wall 
might  have  been  tampered  with.  He  gave  orders  that  it 
should  be  carefully  surveyed  and  examined,  but  found  no 
traces  of  a  breakage:  in  fact,  the  entire  room  seemed  to 
be  whole  and  unimpaired.  For  Erik,  early  in  the  night, 
had  patched  up  the  damage  of  the  broken  wall,  that  his 
trick  might  not  be  detected.  Then  the  king  sent  two  men 
privily  into  the  bedroom  of  Erik  to  learn  the  truth,  and 
bade  them  stand  behind  the  hangings  and  note  all  things 
carefully.  They  further  received  orders  to  kill  Erik  if 
they  found  him  with  Gunwar.  They  went  secretly 
into  the  room,  and,  concealing  themselves  in  the  curtained 
«  corners,  beheld  Erik  and  Gunwar  in  bed  together  with 
arms  entwined.  Thinking  them  only  drowsy,  they 
waited  for  their  deeper  sleep,  wishing  to  stay  until  a 
heavier  slumber  gave  them  a  chance  to  commit  their  crime. 
Erik  snored  lustily,  and  they  knew  it  was  a  sure  sign  that 
he  slept  soundly;  so  they  straightway  came  forth  with 
drawn    blades    in    order    to    butcher    him.     Erik  was 

311 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

awakened  by  their  treacherous  onset,  and  seeing  their 
swords  hanging  over  his  head,  called  out  the  name  of  his 
stepmother,  (Kraka),  to  which  long  ago  he  had  been 
bidden  to  appeal  when  in  peril,  and  he  found  a  speedy 
help  in  his  need.  For  his  shield,  which  hung  aloft  from 
the  rafter,  instantly  fell  and  covered  his  unarmed  body, 
and,  as  if  on  purpose,  covered  it  from  impalement  by  the 
cutthroats.  He  did  not  fail  to  make  use  of  his  luck,  but, 
snatching  his  sword,  lopped  off  both  feet  of  the  nearest  of 
them.  Gunwar,  with  equal  energy,  ran  a  spear  through 
the  other:  she  had  the  body  of  a  woman,  but  the  spirit 
of  a  man. 

Thus  Erik  escaped  the  trap;  whereupon  he  went  back 
to  the  sea  and  made  ready  to  sail  off  by  night.  But 
Roller  sounded  on  his  horn  the  signal  for  those  who  had 
been  bidden  to  watch  close  by,  to  break  into  the  palace. 
When  the  king  heard  this,  he  thought  it  meant  that  the 
enemy  was  upon  them,  and  made  off  hastily  in  a  ship. 
Meanwhile  Brak,  and  those  who  had  broken  in  with  him, 
snatched  up  the  goods  of  the  king,  and  got  them  on  board 
Erik's  ships.  Almost  half  the  night  was  spent  in  pillag- 
ing. In  the  morning,  when  the  king  found  that  they  had 
fled,  he  prepared  to  pursue  them,  but  was  advised  by  one 
of  his  friends  not  to  plan  anything  on  a  sudden  or  do  it 
in  haste.  His  friend,  indeed,  tried  to  convince  him  that 
he  needed  a  larger  equipment,  and  that  it  was  ill-advised 
to  pursue  the  fugitives  to  Denmark  with  a  handful.  But 
neither  could  this  curb  the  king's  impetuous  spirit;  it 
could  not  bear  the  loss ;  for  nothing  had  stung  him  more 
than  this,  that  his  preparations  to  slay  another  should 

312 


500a:  five 

have  recoiled  on  his  own  men.  So  he  sailed  to  the  har- 
bour which  is  now  called  Omi.  Here  the  weather  began 
to  be  bad,  provision  failed,  and  they  thought  it  better, 
since  die  they  must,  to  die  by  the  sword  than  by  famine. 
And  so  the  sailors  turned  their  hand  against  one  another, 
and  hastened  their  end  by  mutual  blows.  The  king 
with  a  few  men  took  to  the  cliffs  and  escaped.  Lofty 
barrows  still  mark  the  scene  of  the  slaughter.  Mean- 
while Erik  ended  his  voyage  fairly,  and  the  wedding  of 
Alfhild  and  Frode  was  kept. 

Then  came  tidings  of  an  inroad  of  the  Sclavs,  and 
Erik  was  commissioned  to  suppress  it  with  eight  ships, 
since  Frode  as  yet  seemed  inexperienced  in  war.  Erik, 
loth  ever  to  flinch  from  any  manly  undertaking,  gladly 
undertook  the  business  and  did  it  bravely.  Learning  that 
the  pirates  had  seven  ships,  he  sailed  up  to  them  with  only 
one  of  his  own,  ordering  the  rest  to  be  girt  with  timber 
parapets,  and  covered  over  with  pruned  boughs  of  trees. 
Then  he  advanced  to  observe  the  number  of  the  enemy 
more  fully,  but  when  the  Sclavs  pursued  closely,  he  beat 
a  quick  retreat  to  his  men.  But  the  enemy,  blind  to  the 
trap,  and  as  eager  to  take  the  fugitives,  rowed  smiting 
the  waters  fast  and  incessantly.  For  the  ships  of  Erik 
could  not  be  clearly  distinguished,  looking  like  a  leafy 
wood.  The  enemy,  after  venturing  into  a  winding  strait, 
suddenly  saw  themselves  surrounded  by  the  fleet  of  Erik. 
First,  confounded  by  the  strange  sight,  they  thought 
that  a  wood  was  sailing;  and  then  they  saw  that  guile 
lurked  under  the  leaves.  Therefore,  tardily  repenting 
their    rashness,    they    tried  to  retrace    their    incautious 

313 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

voyage:  but  while  they  were  trying  to  steer  about,  they 
saw  the  enemy  boarding  them;  Erik,  however,  put  his 
ship  ashore,  and  slung  stones  against  the  enemy  from 
afar.  Thus  most  of  the  Sclavs  were  killed,  and  forty 
taken,  who  afterwards  under  stress  of  bonds  and  famine, 
and  in  strait  of  divers  torments,  gave  up  the  ghost. 

Meantime  Frode,  in  order  to  cross  on  an  expedition 
into  Sclavia,  had  mustered  a  mighty  fleet  from  the  Danes, 
as  well  as  from  neighbouring  peoples.  The  smallest  boat 
of  this  fleet  could  carry  twelve  sailors,  and  be  rowed  by 
as  many  oars.  Then  Erik,  bidding  his  men  await  him 
patiently  went  to  tell  Frode  the  tidings  of  the  defeat  he 
had  inflicted.  As  he  sailed  along  he  happened  to  see  a 
pirate  ship  aground  on  some  shallows ;  and  being  wont  to 
utter  weighty  words  upon  chance  occurrences,  he  said, 
"Obscure  is  the  lot  of  the  base-born,  and  mean  is  the 
fortune  of  the  lowly."  Then  he  brought  his  ship  up  close 
and  destroyed  the  pirates,  who  were  trying  to  get  off 
their  own  vessel  with  poles,  and  busily  engrossed  in 
saving  her.  This  accomplished,  he  made  his  way  back  to 
the  king's  fleet ;  and  wishing  to  cheer  Frode  with  a  greet- 
ing that  heralded  his  victory,  he  said,  "Hail  to  the  maker 
of  a  most  prosperous  peace!"  The  king  prayed  that  his 
word  might  come  true,  and  declared  that  the  spirit  of  the 
wise  man  was  prophetic.  Erik  answered  that  he  spoke 
truly,  and  that  the  petty  victory  brought  an  omen  of  a 
greater  one;  declaring  that  a  presage  of  great  matters 
could  often  be  got  from  trifles.  Then  the  king  coun- 
selled him  to  scatter  his  force,  and  ordered  the  horsemen 
of  Jutland  to  go  by  the  land  way,  while  the  rest  of  the 

314 


BOOK  FIVE 

army  went  by  the  short  sea-passage.  But  the  sea  was 
covered  with  such  a  throng-  of  vessels,  that  there  were  not 
enough  harbours  to  take  them  in,  nor  shores  for  them  to 
encamp  on,  nor  money  for  their  provisions;  while  the 
land  army  is  said  to  have  been  so  great  that,  in  order  to 
shorten  the  way,  it  levelled  mountains,  made  marshes 
passable,  filled  up  pits  with  material,  and  the  hugest 
chasms  by  casting  in  great  boulders. 

Meanwhile  Strtmik  the  King  of  the  Sclavs  sent  envoys 
to  ask  for  a  truce;  but  Frode  refused  him  time  to  equip 
himself,  saying  that  an  enemy  ought  not  to  be  furnished 
with  a  truce.  Moreover,  he  said,  he  had  hitherto  passed 
his  life  without  experience  of  war,  and  now  he  ought 
not  to  delay  its  beginning  by  waiting  in  doubt;  for  the 
man  that  conducted  his  first  campaign  successfully  might 
hope  for  as  good  fortune  in  the  rest.  For  each  side 
would  take  the  augury  afforded  by  the  first  engagements 
as  a  presage  of  the  combat;  since  the  preliminary  suc- 
cesses of  war  were  often  a  prophecy  of  the  sequel.  Erik 
commended  the  wisdom  of  the  reply,  declaring  that  the 
game  ought  to  be  played  abroad  just  as  it  had  been  begun 
at  home:  meaning  that  the  Danes  had  been  challenged 
by  the  Sclavs.  After  these  words  he  fought  a  furious 
battle,  slew  Strunik  with  the  bravest  of  his  race,  and 
received  the  surrender  of  the  rest.  Then  Frode  called  the 
Sclavs  together,  and  proclaimed  by  a  herald  that  any  man 
among  them  who  had  been  trained  to  theft  or  plunder 
should  be  speedily  given  up;  promising  that  he  would 
reward  the  character  of  such  men  with  the  highest 
honours.     He  also  ordered  that  all  of  them,  who  were 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

versed  in  evil  arts  should  come  forth  to  have  their  reward. 
This  offer  pleased  the  Sclavs :  and  some  of  them,  tempted 
by  their  hopes  of  the  gift,  betrayed  themselves  with  more 
avarice  than  judgment,  before  the  others  could  make 
them  known.  These  were  misled  by  such  great  covet- 
ousness,  that  they  thought  less  of  shame  than  lucre,  and 
accounted  as  their  glory  what  was  really  their  guilt. 
When  these  had  given  themselves  up  of  their  own  will, 
he  said :  "Sclavs !  this  is  the  pest  from  which  you 
must  clear  your  land  yourselves."  And  straightway  he 
ordered  the  executioners  to  seize  them,  and  had  them 
fixed  upon  the  highest  gallows  by  the  hand  of  their  own 
countrymen.  The  punishers  looked  fewer  than  the  pun- 
ished. And  thus  the  shrewd  king,  by  refusing  to  those 
who  owned  their  giiilt  the  pardon  which  he  granted  to  the 
conquered  foe,  destroyed  almost  the  entire  stock  of  the 
Sclavic  race.  Thus  the  longing  for  an  undeserved  reward 
was  visited  with  a  deserved  penalty,  and  the  thirst  for  an 
undue  wage  justly  punished.  I  should  think  that  these 
men  were  rightly  delivered  to  their  doom,  who  brought 
the  peril  on  their  own  heads  by  speaking,  when  they 
could  have  saved  their  lives  by  the  protection  of  silence. 

The  king,  exalted  by  the  honours  of  his  fresh  victory, 
and  loth  to  seem  less  strong  in  justice  than  in  battle, 
resolved  to  remodel  his  army  by  some  new  laws,  some  of 
which  are  retained  by  present  usage,  while  others  men 
have  chosen  to  abolish  for  new  ones,  (a)  For  he 
decreed,  when  the  spoil  was  divided,  that  each  of  the 
vanguard  should  receive  a  greater  share  than  the  rest 
of  the  soldiery :  while  he  granted  all  gold  that  was  taken 

316 


BOOK  FIVE 

to  th-e  generals  (before  whom  the  standards  were  always 
borne  in  battle)  on  account  of  their  rank;  wishing  the 
common  soldiers  to  be  content  with  silver.  He  ordered 
that  the  arms  should  go  to  the  champions,  but  the  captured 
ships  should  pass  to  the  common  people,  as  the  due  of 
those  who  had  the  right  of  building  and  equipping 
vessels,  {h)  Also  he  forbade  that  anyone  should  ven- 
ture to  lock  up  his  household  goods,  as  he  would  receive 
double  the  value  of  any  losses  from  the  treasury  of  the 
king;  but  if  anyone  thought  fit  to  keep  it  in  locked  coffers, 
he  must  pay  the  king  a  gold  mark,  (c)  He  also  laid 
down  that  anyone  who  spared  a  thief  should  be  punished 
as  a  thief,  {d)  Further,  that  the  first  man  to  flee  in 
battle  should  forfeit  all  common  rights,  (r)  But  when 
he  had  returned  into  Denmark  he  wished  to  amend  by 
good  measures  any  corruption  caused  by  the  evil  prac- 
tices of  Grep;  and  therefore  granted  women  free  choice 
in  marriage,  so  that  there  might  be  no  compulsory 
wedlock.  And  so  he  provided  by  law  that  women  should 
be  held  duly  married  to  those  whom  they  had  wedded  with- 
out consulting  their  fathers.  (/)  But  if  a  free  woman 
agreed  to  marry  a  slave,  she  must  fall  to  his  rank,  lose 
the  blessing  of  freedom,  and  adopt  the  standing  of  a  slave. 
Xg)  He  also  imposed  on  men  the  statute  that  they  must 
marry  any  woman  whom  they  had  seduced.  (//)  He 
ordained  that  adulterers  should  be  deprived  of  a  member 
by  the  lawful  husbands,  so  that  continence  might  not  be 
destroyed  by  shameful  sins.  (/)  Also  he  ordained  that 
if  a  Dane  plundered  another  Dane,  he  should  repay 
double,   and   be  held  guilty  of  a   breach   of  the   peace. 

317 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

(k)  And  if  any  man  were  to  take  to  the  house  of  another 
anything  which  he  had  got  by  thieving,  his  host,  if  he 
shut  the  door  of  his  house  behind  the  man,  should  incur 
forfeiture  of  all  his  goods,  and  should  be  beaten  in  full 
assembly,  being  regarded  as  having  made  himself  guilty 
of  the  same  crime.  (/)  Also,  whatsoever  exile  should 
turn  enemy  to  his  country,  or  bear  a  shield  against  his 
countrymen,  should  be  punished  with  the  loss  of  life  and 
goods,  (m)  But  if  any  man,  from  a  contumacious  spirit, 
were  slack  in  fulfilling  the  orders  of  the  king,  he  should 
be  punished  with  exile.  For,  on  an  occasion  of  any 
sudden  and  urgent  war,  an  arrow  of  wood,  looking  like 
iron,  used  to  be  passed  on  everywhere  from  man  to  man 
as  a  messenger,  (n)  But  if  any  one  of  the  commons 
went  in  front  of  the  vanguard  in  battle,  he  was  to  rise 
from  a  slave  into  a  freeman,  and  from  a  peasant  into  a 
nobleman;  but  if  he  were  nobly-born  already,  he  should 
be  created  a  governor.  So  great  a  guerdon  did  valiant 
men  earn  of  old;  and  thus  did  the  ancients  think  noble 
rank  the  due  of  bravery.  For  it  was  thought  that  the 
luck  a  man  had  should  be  set  down  to  his  valour,  and  not 
his  valour  to  his  luck,  (o)  He  also  enacted  that  no 
dispute  should  be  entered  on  with  a  promise  made  under 
oath  and  a  gage  deposited;  but  whosoever  requested 
another  man  to  deposit  a  gage  against  him  should  pay 
that  man  half  a  gold  mark,  on  pain  of  severe  bodily  chas- 
tisement. For  the  king  had  foreseen  that  the  greatest 
occasions  of  strife  might  arise  from  the  depositing  of 
gages,  (p)  But  he  decided  that  any  quarrel  whatsoever 
should  be  decided  by  the  sword,  thinking  a  combat  of 

318 


BOOK  FIVE 

weapons  more  honourable  than  one  of  words.  But  if 
either  of  the  combatants  drew  back  his  foot,  and  stepped 
out  of  the  ring  of  the  circle  previously  marked,  he  was  to 
consider  himself  conquered,  and  suffer  the  loss  of  his  case. 
But  a  man  of  the  people,  if  he  attacked  a  champion  on  any 
score,  should  be  armed  to  meet  him ;  but  the  champion 
should  only  fight  with  a  truncheon  an  ell  long,  (q) 
Further,  he  appointed  that  if  an  alien  killed  a  Dane,  his 
death  should  be  redressed  by  the  slaying  of  two  foreigners. 

Meanwhile,  Gotar,  in  order  to  punish  Erik,  equipped 
his  army  for  war :  and  Frode,  on  the  other  side,  equipped 
a  great  fleet  to  go  against  Norway,  \\nien  both  alike  had 
put  into  Rennes-Isle,  Gotar,  terrified  by  the  greatness  of 
Frode's  name,  sent  ambassadors  to  pray  for  peace.  Erik 
said  to  them,  "Shameless  is  the  robber  who  is  the  first  to 
seek  peace,  or  ventures  to  offer  it  to  the  good.  He  who 
longs  to  win  must  struggle :  blow  must  counter  blow, 
malice  repel   malice." 

Gotar  listened  attentively  to  this  from  a  distance,  and 
then  said,  as  loudly  as  he  could :  "Each  man  fights  for 
valour  according  as  he  remembers  kindness."  Erik  said 
to  him:  "I  have  requited  thy  kindness  by  giving  thee 
back  counsel."  By  this  speech  he  meant  that  his  excellent 
advice  was  worth  more  than  all  manner  of  gifts.  And. 
in  order  to  show  that  Gotar  was  ungrateful  for  the  counsel 
he  had  received,  he  said :  "\\' hen  thou  desiredst  to  take 
my  life  and  my  wife,  thou  didst  mar  the  look  of  thy  fair 
example.  Only  the  sword  has  the  right  to  decide 
between  us."  Then  Gotar  attacked  the  fleet  of  the 
Danes ;  he  was  unsuccessful  in  the  engagement,  and  slain. 

319 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

Afterwards  Roller  received  his  realm  from  Frode  as  a 
gift;  it  stretched  over  seven  provinces.  Erik  likewise 
presented  Roller  with  the  province  which  Gotar  had  once 
bestowed  upon  him.  After  these  exploits  Frode  passed 
three  years  in  complete  and  tranquil  peace. 

Meanwhile  the  King  of  the  Huns,  when  he  heard  that 
his  daughter  had  been  put  away,  allied  himself  with 
Olmar,  King  of  the  Easterlings,  and  in  two  years 
equipped  an  armament  against  the  Danes.  So  Frode 
levied  an  army  not  only  of  native  Danes,  but  also  of 
Norwegians  and  Sclavs.  Erik,  whom  he  had  sent  to  spy 
out  the  array  of  the  enemy,  found  Olmar,  who  had 
received  the  command  of  the  fleet,  not  far  from  Russia ; 
while  the  King  of  the  Huns  led  the  land  forces.  He 
addressed  Olmar  thus : 

"\Vhat  means,  prithee,  this  strong  equipment  of  war? 
Or  whither  dost  thou  speed.  King  Olmar,  mighty  in  thy 
fleet?" 

Olmar.  "We  are  minded  to  attack  the  son  of  Fridleif. 
And  who  art  thou,  whose  bold  lips  ask  such  questions  ?" 

Brik.  "Vain  hope  of  conquering  the  unconquered  hath 
filled  thy  heart ;  over  Frode  no  man  can  prevail." 

Olmar.  "W'hatsoever  befalls,  must  once  happen  for  the 
first  time;  and  often  enough  the  unexpected  comes  to 
pass." 

By  this  saying  he  let  him  know  that  no  man  must  put 
too  much  trust  in  fortune.  Then  Erik  rode  up  to  inspect 
the  army  of  the  Huns.  As  it  passed  by  him,  and  he  in 
turn  by  it,  it  showed  its  vanguard  to  the  rising  and  its 
rear  to  the  setting  sun.    So  he  asked  those  whom  he  met, 

320 


SOOK  FIVE 

who  had  the  command  of  all  those  thousands.  Hun,  the 
King  of  the  Huns,  happened  to  see  him,  and  heard  that 
he  had  undertaken  to  reconnoitre,  and  asked  what  was  the 
name  of  the  questioner.  Erik  said  he  was  the  man  who 
came  everywhere  and  was  found  nowhere.  Then  the 
king-,  when  an  interpreter  was  brought,  asked  what  work 
Frode  was  about.  Erik  replied,  "Erode  never  waits  at 
home  for  a  hostile  army,  nor  tarries  in  his  house  for  his 
foe.  For  he  who  covets  the  pinnacle  of  another's  power 
must  watch  and  wake  all  night.  No  man  has  ever  won 
a  victory  by  snoring,  and  no  wolf  has  ever  found  a 
carcase  by  lying  asleep." 

The  king,  perceiving  that  he  was  a  cunning  speaker  of 
choice  maxims,  said :  ''Here,  perchance,  is  that  Erik  who, 
as  I  have  heard,  accused  my  daughter  falsely." 

But  Erik,  when  they  were  bidden  to  seize  him  instantly, 
said  that  it  was  unseemly  for  one  man  to  be  dragged  ofif 
by  many;  and  by  this  saying  he  not  only  appeased  the 
mind  of  the  king,  but  even  inclined  him  to  be  willing  to 
pardon  him.  But  it  was  clear  that  this  impunity  came 
more  from  cunning  than  kindness ;  for  the  chief  reason 
why  he  was  let  go  was  that  he  might  terrify  Frode  by 
the  report  of  their  vast  numbers.  When  he  returned, 
Frode  bad  him  relate  what  he  had  discovered,  and  he  said 
that  he  had  seen  six  kings  each  with  his  fleet ;  and  that 
each  of  these  fleets  contained  five  thousand  ships,  each  ship 
being  known  to  hold  three  hundred  rowers.  Each  millen- 
ary of  the  whole  total  he  said  consisted  of  four  wings; 
now,  since  the  full  number  of  a  wing  is  three  hundred,  he 
meant  that  a  millenary  should  be  understood  to  contain 

321 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

twelve  hundred  men.  When  Frode  wavered  in  doubt 
what  he  could  do  against  so  many,  and  looked  eagerly- 
round  for  reinforcements,  Erik  said :  "Boldness  helps  the 
righteous;  a  valiant  dog  must  attack  the  bear;  we  want 
wolf-hounds,  and  not  little  unwarlike  birds."  This  said, 
he  advised  Frode  to  muster  his  fleet.  When  it  was  drawn 
up  they  sailed  off  against  the  enemy;  and  so  they  fought 
and  subdued  the  islands  lying  between  Denmark  and  the 
East;  and  as  they  advanced  thence,  met  some  ships  of 
the  Ruthenian  fleet.  Frode  thought  it  shameful  to  attack 
such  a  handful,  but  Erik  said :  "We  must  seek  food  from 
the  gaunt  and  lean.  He  who  falls  shall  seldom  fatten,  nor 
has  that  man  the  power  to  bite  whom  the  huge  sack  has 
devoured."  By  this  warning  he  cured  the  king  of  all 
shame  about  making  an  assault,  and  presently  induced 
him  to  attack  a  small  number  with  a  throng;  for  he 
showed  him  that  advantage  must  be  counted  before 
honour. 

After  this  they  went  on  to  meet  Olmar,  who  because  of 
the  slowness  of  his  multitude  preferred  awaiting  the 
enemy  to  attacking  it;  for  the  vessels  of  the  Ruthenians 
seemed  disorganized,  and,  owing  to  their  size,  not  so  well 
able  to  row.  But  not  even  did  the  force  of  his  multitudes 
avail  him.  For  the  extraordinary  masses  of  the  Ruth- 
enians were  stronger  in  numbers  than  in  bravery,  and 
yielded  the  victory  to  the  stout  handful  of  the  Danes. 

When  Frode  tried  to  return  home,  his  voyage  encoun- 
tered an  unheard-of  difficulty.  For  the  crowds  of  dead 
bodies,  and  likewise  the  fragments  of  shields  and  spears, 
bestrewed  the  entire  gulf  of  the  sea,  and  tossed  on  the  tide, 

322 


BOOK  FIVE 

so  that  the  harbours  were  not  only  straitened,  but  stank. 
The  vessels  stuck,  hampered  amid  the  corpses.  "They  could 
neither  thrust  off  with  oars,  nor  drive  away  with  poles, 
the  rotting  carcases  that  floated  around,  or  prevent,  when 
they  had  put  one  away,  another  rolling  up  and  driving 
against  the  fleet.  You  would  have  thought  that  a  war 
had  arisen  with  the  dead,  and  there  was  a  strange  combat 
with  the  lifeless. 

So  Frode  summoned  the  nations  which  he  had  con- 
quered, and  enacted  (a)  that  any  father  of  a  family  who 
had  fallen  in  that  war  should  be  buried  with  his  horse  and 
all  his  arms  and  decorations.  And  if  any  body-snatcher, 
in  his  abominable  covetousness,  made  an  attempt  on  him, 
he  was  to  suffer  for  it,  not  only  with  his  life,  but  also  with 
the  loss  of  burial  for  his  own  body ;  he  should  have  no 
barrow  and  no  funeral.  For  he  thought  it  just  that  he 
who  despoiled  another's  ashes  should  be  granted  no 
burial,  but  should  repeat  in  his  own  person  the  fate  he 
had  inflicted  on  another.  He  appointed  that  the  body  of 
a  centurion  or  governor  should  receive  funeral  on  a  pyre 
built  of  his  own  ship.  He  ordered  that  the  bodies  of  every 
ten  pilots  should  be  burnt  together  with  a  single  ship, 
but  that  every  earl  or  king  that  was  killed  should  be  put 
on  his  own  ship  and  burnt  with  it.  He  wished  this  nice 
attention  to  be  paid  in  conducting  the  funerals  of  the 
slain,  because  he  wished  to  prevent  indiscriminate 
obsequies.  By  this  time  all  the  kings  of  the  Russians 
except  Olmar  and  Dag  had  fallen  in  battle,  (b)  He  also 
ordered  the  Russians  to  conduct  their  warfare  in  imita- 
tion of  the  Danes,  and  (c)  never  to  marry  a  wife  without 

323 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

buying  her.  He  thought  that  bought  marriages  would 
have  more  security,  beheving  that  the  troth  which  was 
sealed  with  a  price  was  the  safest,  {d)  Moreover,  any- 
one who  durst  attempt  the  violation  of  a  virgin  was  to  be 
punished  with  the  severance  of  his  bodily  parts,  or  else  to 
requite  the  wrong  of  his  intercourse  with  a  thousand 
talents,  (r)  He  also  enacted  that  any  man  that  applied 
himself  to  war,  who  aspired  to  the  title  of  tried  soldier, 
should  attack  a  single  man,  should  stand  the  attack  of  two, 
should  only  withdraw  his  foot  a  little  to  avoid  three,  but 
should  not  blush  to  flee  from  four.  (/)  He  also  pro- 
claimed that  a  new  custom  concerning  the  pay  of  the 
soldiers  should  be  observed  by  the  princes  under  his 
sway.  He  ordered  that  each  native  soldier  and  house- 
carl  should  be  presented  in  the  winter  season  with  three 
marks  of  silver,  a  common  or  hired  soldier  with  two,  a 
private  soldier  who  had  finished  his  service  with  only  one. 
By  this  law  he  did  injustice  to  valour,  reckoning  the  rank 
of  the  soldiers  and  not  their  courage ;  and  he  w^as  open  to 
the  charge  of  error  in  the  matter,  because  he  set  familiar 
acquaintance  above  desert. 

After  this  the  king  asked  Erik  whether  the  army  of  the 
Huns  was  as  large  as  the  forces  of  Olmar,  and  Erik 
answered  in  the  following  song : 

"By  Hercules,  I  came  on  a  countless  throng,  a  throng 
that  neither  earth  nor  wave  could  hold.  Thick  flared  all 
their  camp-fires,  and  the  whole  wood  blazed  up ;  the  flame 
betokened  a  numberless  array.  The  earth  sank  under  the 
fraying  of  the  horse-hoofs:  creaking  waggons  rattled 
swiftly.     The  wheels  rumbled,  the  driver  rode  upon  the 

324 


BOOK  FIVE 

winds,  so  that  the  chariots  sounded  Hke  thunder.  The 
earth  hardly  bore  the  throngs  of  men-at-arms,  speeding 
on  confusedly;  they  trod  it,  but  it  could  not  bear  their 
weight.  I  thought  that  the  air  crashed  and  the  earth  was 
shaken,  so  mighty  was  the  motion  of  the  stranger  army. 
For  I  saw  fifteen  standards  flickering  at  once ;  each  of 
them  had  a  hundred  lesser  standards,  and  after  each  of 
these  could  have  been  seen  twenty;  and  the  captains  in 
their  order  were  equal  in  number  to  the  standards." 

Now  when  Frode  asked  wherewithal  he  was  to  resist  so 
many,  Erik  instructed  him  that  he  must  return  home  and 
suffer  the  enemy  first  to  perish  of  their  own  hugeness. 
His  counsel  was  obeyed,  the  advice  being  approved  as 
heartily  as  it  was  uttered.  But  the  Huns  went  on  through 
pathless  deserts,  and,  finding  provisions  nowhere,  began 
to  run  the  risk  of  general  starvation ;  for  it  was  a  huge 
and  swampy  district,  and  nothing  could  be  found  to 
relieve  their  want.  At  last,  when  the  beasts  of  burden 
had  been  cut  down  and  eaten,  they  began  to  scatter,  lack- 
ing carriages  as  much  as  food.  Now  their  straying  from 
the  road  was  as  perilous  to  them  as  their  hunger.  Neither 
horses  nor  asses  were  spared,  nor  did  they  refrain  from 
filthy  garbage.  At  last  they  did  not  even  spare  dogs :  to 
dying  men  every  abomination  was  lawful;  for  there  is 
nothing  too  hard  for  the  bidding  of  extreme  need.  At 
last  when  they  were  worn  out  w^ith  hunger,  there  came  a 
general  mortality.  Bodies  were  carried  out  for  burial 
without  end,  for  all  feared  to  perish,  and  none  pitied  the 
perishing.  Fear  indeed  had  cast  out  humanity.  So  first 
the  divisions  deserted  from  the  king  little  by  little;  and 

3  325 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

then  the  army  melted  away  by  companies.  He  was  also 
deserted  by  the  prophet  Ygg,  a  man  of  unknown  age, 
which  was  prolonged  beyond  the  human  span;  this  man 
went  as  a  deserter  to  Frode,  and  told  him  of  all  the 
preparations  of  the  Huns. 

Meanwhile  Hedin,  prince  of  a  considerable  tribe  of  the 
Norwegians,  approached  the  fleet  of  Frode  with  a  hundred 
and  fifty  vessels.  Choosing  twelve  out  of  these,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  cruise  nearer,  signalling  the  approach  of  friends 
by  a  shield  raised  on  the  mast.  He  thus  greatly  aug- 
mented the  forces  of  the  king,  and  was  received  into  his 
closest  friendship.  A  mutual  love  afterwards  arose 
between  this  man  and  Hilda,  the  daughter  of  Hogni,  a 
chieftain  of  the  Jutes,  and  a  maiden  of  most  eminent 
renown.  For,  though  they  had  not  yet  seen  one  another, 
each  had  been  kindled  by  the  other's  glory.  But  when 
they  had  a  chance  of  beholding  one  another,  neither  could 
look  away;  so  steadfast  was  the  love  that  made  their 
eyes  linger. 

Meanwhile,  Frode  distributed  his  soldiers  through  the 
towns,  and  carefully  gathered  in  the  materials  needed  for 
the  winter  supplies;  but  even  so  he  could  not  maintain 
his  army,  with  its  burden  of  expense ;  and  plague  fell 
on   him    almost    as   great   as    the   destruction    that   met 
the   Huns.      Therefore,    to   prevent    the    influx   of    for 
eigners,  he  sent  a  fleet  to  the  Elbe  to  take  care  that  nothing, 
should  cross ;  the  admirals  were  Revil  and  Mevil.     When] 
the  winter  broke  up,  Hedin  and  Hogni  resolved  to  make] 
a  roving-raid  together;  for  Hogni  did  not  know  that  hisj 
partner  was  in  love  with  his  daughter.     Now  Hogni  was] 

326 


BOOK  FIVE 

of  unusual  stature,  and  stiff  in  temper;  while  Hedin  was 
\ery  comely,  but  short.  Also,  when  F'rode  saw  that  the 
cost  of  keeping  up  his  army  grew  daily  harder  to  bear,  he 
sent  Roller  to  Norway,  Olmar  to  Sweden,  King  Onef  and 
Glomer,  a  rover  captain,  to  the  Orkney's  for  supplies,  each 
with  his  own  forces.  Thirty  kings  followed  Frode,  and 
were  his  friends  or  vassals.  But  when  Hun  heard  that 
Frode  had  sent  away  his  forces  he  mustered  another  and 
a  fresh  armv.  But  Hogni  betrothed  his  daughter  to 
Iledin,  after  they  had  sworn  to  one  another  that  which- 
ever of  them  should  perish  by  the  sword  should  be  avenged 
by  the  other. 

In  the  autumn,  the  men  in  search  of  supplies  came  back, 
but  they  were  richer  in  trophies  than  in  food.  For  Roller 
had  made  tributar\'  the  provinces  Sundmor  and  Nordmor, 
after  slaying  Arthor  their  king.  But  Olmar  conquered 
Thor  the  Long,  the  King  of  the  Jemts  and  the  Helsings, 
with  two  other  captains  of  no  less  power,  and  also  took 
Esthonia  and  Kurland,  with  Oland,  and  the  isles  that 
fringe  Sweden ;  thus  he  was  a  most  renowned  conqueror 
of  savage  lands.  So  he  brought  back  700  ships,  thus 
doubling  the  numbers  of  those  previously  taken  out. 
Onef  and  Glomer.  Hedin  and  Hogni,  w'on  victories  over 
the  Orkneys,  and  returned  with  000  ships.  And  by  this 
time  revenues  had  been  got  in  from  far  and  wide,  and 
there  were  ample  materials  gathered  by  plunder  to 
recruit  their  resources.  They  had  also  added  twenty 
kingdoms  to  the  sw^ay  of  Frode,  whose  kings,  added  to 
the  thirty  named  before,  fought  on  the  side  of  the  Danes, 

Trusting   in   their   strength,    they   engaged   with   the 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

Hnns.  Such  a  carnage  broke  out  on  the  first  day  of  this 
combat  that  the  three  chief  rivers  of  Russia  were  bestrewn 
with  a  kind  of  bridge  of  corpses,  and  could  be  crossed  and 
passed  over.,  Also  the  traces  of  the  massacre  spread  so 
wide  that  for  the  space  of  three  days'  ride  the  ground 
was  to  be  seen  covered  with  human  carcases.  So,  when 
the  battle  had  been  seven  days  prolonged,  King  Hun  fell ; 
and  his  brother  of  the  same  name,  when  he  saw  the  line 
of  the  Huns  giving  way,  without  delay  surrendered  him- 
self and  his  company.  In  that  war  170  kings,  who  were 
either  Huns  or  fighting  amongst  the  Huns,  surrendered  to 
the  king.  This  great  number  Erik  had  comprised  in  his 
previous  description  of  the  standards,  when  he  was 
giving  an  account  of  the  multitude  of  the  Huns  in  answer 
to  the  questions  of  Frode.  So  Frode  summoned  the  kings 
to  assembly,  and  imposed  a  rule  upon  them  that  they 
should  all  live  under  one  and  the  same  law.  Now  he  set 
Olmar  over  Holmgard;  Onef  over  Conogard;  and  he  be- 
stowed Saxony  on  Hun,  his  prisoner,  and  gave  Revil  the 
Orkneys.  To  one  Dimar  he  allotted  the  management  of 
the  provinces  of  the  Helsings,  of  the  Jarnbers,  and  the 
Jemts,  as  well  as  both  Laplands;  while  on  Dag  he  be- 
stowed the  government  of  Esthonia.  Each  of  these  men 
he  burdened  with  fixed  conditions  of  tribute,  thus  making 
allegiance  a  condition  of  his  kindness.  So  the  realms  of 
Frode  embraced  Russia  on  the  east,  and  on  the  west  were 
bounded  by  the  Rhine. 

Meantime,  certain  slanderous  tongues  accused  Hedin 
to  Hogni  of  having  tempted  and  defiled  his  daughter 
before  the  rites  of  betrothal;  which  was  then  accounted 

328 


BOOK  FIVE 

an  enormous  crime  by  all  nations.  So  the  credulous  ears 
of  Hogni  drank  in  this  lying  report,  and  with  his  fleet  he 
attacked  Hedin,  who  was  collecting  the  king's  dues  among 
the  Slavs;  there  was  an  engagement,  and  Hogni  was 
beaten,  and  went  to  Jutland.  And  thus  the  peace  insti- 
tuted by  Frode  was  disturbed  by  intestine  war,  and  natives 
were  the  first  to  disobey  the  king's  law.  Frode,  there- 
fore, sent  men  to  summon  them  both  at  once,  and  inquired 
closely  what  was  the  reason  of  their  feud.  When  he  had 
heard  it,  he  gave  judgment  according  to  the  terms  of  the 
law  he  had  enacted ;  but  when  he  saw  that  even  this  could 
not  reconcile  them  (for  the  father  obstinately  demanded 
his  daughter  back),  he  decreed  that  the  quarrel  should 
be  settled  by  the  sword — it  seemed  the  only  remedy  for 
ending  the  dispute.  The  fight  began,  and  Hedin  was 
grievously  wounded ;  but  when  he  began  to  lose  blood  and 
bodily  strength,  he  received  unexpected  mercy  from  his 
enemy.  For  though  Hogni  had  an  easy  chance  of  killing 
him,  yet,  pitying  youth  and  beauty,  he  constrained  his 
cruelty  to  give  way  to  clemency.  And  so,  loth  to  cut  off 
a  stripling  who  was  panting  at  his  last  gasp,  he  refrained 
his  sword.  For  of  old  it  was  accounted  shameful  to 
deprive  of  his  life  one  who  w^as  ungrown  or  a  weakling; 
so  closely  did  the  antique  bravery  of  champions  take  heed 
of  all  that  could  incline  them  to  modesty.  So  Hedin,  with 
I  the  help  of  his  men,  was  taken  back  to  his  ship,  saved  by 
the  kindness  of  his  foe. 

In  the  seventh  year  after,  these  same  men  began  to  fight 
on  Hedin's  isle,  and  wounded  each  other  so  that  they  died. 
Hogni  would  have  been  lucky  if  he  had  shown  severity 

•■         329 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 


rather  than  compassion  to  Heclin  when  he  had  once  con- 
quered him.  They  say  that  Hilda  longed  so  ardently  for 
her  husband,  that  she  is  believed  to  have  conjured  up  the 
spirits  of  the  combatants  by  her  spells  in  the  night  in 
order  to  renew  the  war. 

At  the  same  time  came  to  pass  a  savage  war  between 
Alrik,  king  of  the  Swedes,  and  Gestiblind,  king  of  the 
Goths.  The  latter,  being  the  weaker,  approached  Frode 
as  a  suppliant,  willing,  if  he  might  get  his  aid,  to  surren- 
der his  kingdom  and  himself.  He  soon  received  the 
aid  of  Skalk,  the  Skanian,  and  Erik,  and  came  back  with 
reinforcements.  He  had  determined  to  let  loose  his 
attack  on  Alrik,  but  Erik  thought  that  he  should  first 
assail  his  son  Gunthion,  governor  of  the  men  of  Wermland 
and  Solongs,  declaring  that  the  storm-weary  mariner 
ought  to  make  for  the  nearest  shore,  and  moreover  that 
the  rootless  trunk  seldom  burgeoned.  So  he  made  an 
attack,  wherein  perished  Gunthion,  whose  tomb  records 
his  name.  Alrik.  when  he  heard  of  the  destruction  of 
his  son,  hastened  to  avenge  him,  and  when  he  had 
observed  his  enemies,  he  summoned  Erik,  and,  in  a  secret 
interview,  recounted  the  leagues  of  their  fathers,  implor- 
ing him  to  refuse  to  fight  for  Gestiblind.  This  Erik 
steadfastly  declined,  and  Alrik  then  asked  leave  to  fight 
Gestiblind,  thinking  that  a  duel  was  better  than  a  general 
engagement.  But  Erik  said  that  Gestiblind  was  unfit  for 
arms  by  reason  of  old  age,  pleading  his  bad  health,  and 
above  all  his  years ;  but  offered  himself  to  fight  in  his 
place,  explaining  that  it  would  be  shameful  to  decline  a 
duel  on  behalf  of  the  man  for  whom  he  had  come  to  make 


330 


BOOK  FIVE 

a  war.  Then  they  fought  without  delay :  Alrik  w^as 
killed,  and  Erik  was  most  severely  wounded ;  it  was  hard 
to  find  remedies,  and  he  did  not  for  long-  time  recover 
health.  Now  a  false  report  had  come  to  Frode  that  Erik 
had  fallen,  and  was  tormenting  the  king's  mind  with  sore 
grief;  but  Erik  dispelled  this  sadness  with  his  welcome 
return;  indeed,  he  reported  to  Frode  that  by  his  efforts 
Sweden,  ^\'ermland,  Helsingland,  and  the  islands  of  the 
Sun  (Soleyar)  had  been  added  to  his  realm.  Frode 
straightway  made  him  king  of  the  nations  he  had  subdued, 
and  also  granted  to  him  Helsingland  with  the  two 
Laplands,  Finland  and  Esthonia,  under  a  yearly  tri- 
bute. None  of  the  Swedish  kings  before  him  was  called 
by  the  name  of  Erik,  but  the  title  passed  from  him  to 
the  rest. 

At  the  same  time  Alf  was  king  in  Hethmark,  and  he 
had  a  son  Asmund.  Biorn  ruled  in  the  province  of  Wik, 
and  had  a  son  Aswid.  Asmund  was  engaged  on  an 
unsuccessful  hunt,  and  while  he  was  proceeding  either  to 
stalk  the  game  with  dogs  or  to  catch  it  in  nets,  a  mist 
happened  to  come  on.  By  this  he  was  separated  from 
his  snarers  on  a  lonely  track,  wandered  over  the  dreary 
ridges,  and  at  last,  destitute  of  horse  and  clothing,  ate 
fungi  and  mushrooms,  and  wandered  on  aimlessly  till 
he  came  to  the  dwelling  of  King  Biorn.  Moreover,  the 
son  of  the  king  and  he,  when  they  had  lived  together  a 
short  \\hile,  swore  by  every  vow,  in  order  to  ratify  the 
friendship  which  they  observed  to  one  another,  that  which- 
ever of  them  lived  longest  should  be  buried  w'ith  him  who 
died.     For  their  fellowship  and  love  were  so  strong,  that 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

each  determined  he  would  not  prolong  his  days  when  the 
other  was  cut  off  by  death. 

After  this  Frode  gathered  together  a  host  of  all  his 
subject  nations,  and  attacked  Norway  with  his  fleet,  Erik 
being  bidden  to  lead  the  land  force.  For,  after  the 
fashion  of  human  greed,  the  more  he  gained  the  more  he 
wanted,  and  would  not  suffer  even  the  dreariest  and 
most  rugged  region  of  the  world  to  escape  this  kind  of 
attack;  so  much  is  increase  of  wealth  wont  to  encourage 
covetousness.  So  the  Norwegians,  casting  away  all  hope 
of  self-defence,  and  losing  all  confidence  in  their  power 
to  revolt,  began  to  flee  for  the  most  part  to  Halogaland. 
The  maiden  Stikla  also  withdrew  from  her  country  to 
save  her  chastity,  proferring  the  occupations  of  war  to 
those  of  wedlock. 

Meanwhile  Aswid  died  of  an  illness,  and  was  consigned 
with  his  horse  and  dog  to  a  cavern  in  the  earth.  And 
Asniund,  because  of  his  oath  of  friendship,  had  the 
courage  to  be  buried  with  him,  food  being  put  in  for  him 
to  eat. 

Now  just  at  this  time  Erik,  who  had  crossed  the 
uplands  with  his  army,  happened  to  draw  near  the  barrow 
of  Aswid;  and  the  Swedes,  thinking  that  treasures  were 
in  it,  broke  the  hill  open  with  mattocks,  and  saw  disclosed 
a  cave  deeper  than  they  had  thought.  To  examine  it,  a 
man  was  wanted,  who  would  lower  himself  on  a  hanging 
rope  tied  around  him.  One  of  the  quickest  of  the  youths 
was  chosen  by  lot;  and  Asmund,  when  he  saw  him  let 
down  in  a  basket  following  a  rope,  straightway  cast  him 
out  and  climbed  into  the  basket.     Then  he  gave  the  signal 

332 


BOOK  FIVE 

to  draw  him  up  to  those  above  who  were  standing  by  and 
controlHng  the  rope.  They  drew  in  the  basket  in  the 
hopes  of  great  treasure ;  but  when  they  saw  the  unknown 
figure  of  the  man  they  had  taken  out,  they  were  scared 
by  his  extraordinary  look,  and,  thinking  that  the  dead  had 
come  to  hfe,  flung  down  the  rope  and  fled  all  ways. 
For  Asmund  looked  ghastly  and  seemed  to  be  covered 
as  with  the  corruption  of  the  chamel.  He  tried  to  recall 
the  fugitives,  and  began  to  clamour  that  they  were  wrong- 
fully afraid  of  a  living  man.  And  when  Erik  saw  him, 
he  marvelled  most  at  the  aspect  of  his  bloody  face :  the 
blood  flowing  forth  and  spurting  over  it.  For  Aswid 
had  come  to  life  in  the  nights,  and  in  his  continual 
struggles  had  wrenched  ofif  his  left  ear ;  and  there  was  to 
be  seen  the  horrid  sight  of  a  raw  and  unhealed  scar.  And 
when  the  bystanders  bade  him  tell  how  he  had  got  such  a 
wound,  he  began  to  speak  thus : — 

"Why  stand  3'e  aghast,  who  see  me  colourless  ?  Surely 
every  live  man  fades  among  the  dead.  Evil  to  the  lonely 
man,  and  burdensome  to  the  single,  remains  every  dwell- 
ing in  the  world.  Hapless  are  they  whom  chance  hath 
bereft  of  human  help.  The  listless  night  of  the  cavern, 
the  darkness  of  the  ancient  den,  have  taken  all  joy  from 
my  eyes  and  soul.  The  ghastly  ground,  the  crumbling 
barrow,  and  the  heavy  tide  of  filthy  things  have  marred 
the  grace  of  my  youthful  countenance,  and  sapped  my 
wonted  pith  and  force.  Besides  all  this,  I  have  fought 
with  the  dead,  enduring  the  heavy  burden  and  grievous 
peril  of  the  wrestle;  Aswid  rose  again  and  fell  on  me  with 
rending  nails,  by  hellish  might  renewing  ghastly  warfare 

after  he  was  ashes. 

oo3 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

"Why  stand  ye  aghast,  who  see  me  colourless  ?  Surely 
every  live  man  fades  among  the  dead. 

"By  some  strange  enterprise  of  the  power  of  hell  the 
spirit  of  Aswid  was  sent  up  from  the  nether  world,  and 
with  cruel  tooth  eats  the  fleet-footed  (horse),  and  has 
given  his  dog  to  his  abominable  jaws.  Not  sated  with 
devouring  the  horse  or  hound,  he  soon  turned  his  swift 
nails  upon  me,  tearing  my  cheek  and  taking  off  my  ear. 
Hence  the  hideous  sight  of  my  slashed  countenance,  the 
blood-spurts  in  the  ugly  wound.  Yet  the  bringer  of 
horrors  did  it  not  unscathed ;  for  soon  I  cut  off  his  head 
with  my  steel,  and  impaled  his  guilty  carcase  with  a  stake. 

"Why  stand  ye  aghast  who  see  me  colourless?  Surely 
every  live  man  fades  among  the  dead." 

Frode  had  by  this  taken  his  fleet  over  to  Halogaland; 
and  here,  in  order  to  learn  the  numbers  of  his  host,  which 
seemed  to  surpass  all  bounds  and  measure  that  could  be 
counted,  he  ordered  his  soldiers  to  pile  up  a  hill,  one  stone 
being  cast  upon  the  heap  for  each  man.  The  enemy  also 
pursued  the  same  method  of  numbering  their  host,  and  the 
hills  are  still  to  be  seen  to  convince  the  visitor.  Here 
Frode  joined  battle  with  the  Norwegians,  and  the  day 
was  bloody.  At  nightfall  both  sides  determined  to 
retreat.  As  daybreak  drew  near,  Erik,  who  had  come 
across  the  land,  came  up  and  advised  the  king  to  renew 
the  battle.  In  this  war  the  Danes  suffered  such  slaughter 
that  out  of  3,000  ships  only  170  are  supposed  to  have 
survived.  The  Northmen,  however,  were  exterminated 
in  such  a  mighty  massacre,  that  (so  the  story  goes)  there 
were  not  men  left  to  till  even  a  fifth  of  their  villages. 

334 


BOOK  FIVE 

Frode,  now  triumphant,  wished  to  renew  peace  among 
all  nations,  that  he  might  ensure  each  man's  property  from 
the  inroads  of  thieves  and  now  ensure  peace  to  his  reahns 
after  war.  So  he  hung  one  bracelet  on  a  crag  which  is 
called  Frode's  Rock,  and  another  in  the  district  of  W'ik, 
after  he  had  addressed  the  assembled  Norwegians; 
threatening  that  these  necklaces  should  serve  to  test  the 
honesty  which  he  had  decreed,  and  threatening  that  if 
they  were  filched  punishment  should  fall  on  all  the  gover- 
nors of  the  district.  And  thus,  sorely  imperilling  the 
officers,  there  was  the  gold  unguarded,  hanging  up  full  in 
the  parting  of  the  roads,  and  the  booty,  so  easy  to  plunder, 
a  temptation  to  all  covetous  spirits,  (a)  Frode  also 
enacted  that  seafarers  should  freely  use  oars  wherever 
they  found  them;  while  to  those  who  wished  to  cross  a 
river  he  granted  free  use  of  the  horse  which  they  found 
nearest  to  the  ford.  He  decreed  that  they  must  dismount 
from  this  horse  when  its  fore  feet  only  touched  land  and 
its  hind  feet  were  still  washed  by  the  waters.  For  he 
thought  that  services  such  as  these  should  rather  be 
accounted  kindness  than  wrongdoing.  Moreover,  he 
ordained  that  whosoever  durst  try  and  make  further  use 
of  the  horse  after  he  had  crossed  the  river  should  be  con- 
demned to  death,  {b)  He  "also  ordered  that  no  man 
should  hold  his  house  or  his  coffer  under  lock  and  key, 
or  should  keep  anything  guarded  by  bolts,  promising  that 
all  losses  should  be  made  good  threefold,  {c)  Also,  he 
appointed  that  it  was  lawful  to  claim  as  much  of  another 
man's  food  for  provision  as  would  suffice  for  a  single 
supper.     If  anyone  exceeded  this  measure  in  his  takings, 

335 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

he  was  to  be  held  guilty  of  theft.  Now,  a  thief  (so  he 
enacted)  was  to  be  hung  up  with  a  sword  passed  through 
his  sinews,  with  a  wolf  fastened  by  his  side,  so  that  the 
wicked  man  might  look  like  the  savage  beast,  both  being 
punished  alike.  He  also  had  the  same  penalty  extended  to 
accomplices  in  thefts.  Here  he  passed  seven  most  happy 
years  of  peace,  begetting  a  son  Alf  and  a  daughter  Eyfura, 
It  chanced  that  in  these  days  Arngrim,  a  champion 
of  Sweden,  who  had  challenged,  attacked,  and  slain 
Skalk  the  Skanian  because  he  had  once  robbed  him  of  a 
vessel,  came  to  Frode.  Elated  beyond  measure  with  his 
deed,  he  ventured  to  sue  for  Frode's  daughter ;  but,  find- 
ing the  king  deaf  to  him,  he  asked  Erik,  who  was  ruling 
Sweden,  to  help  him.  Erik  advised  him  to  win  Frode's 
goodwill  by  some  illustrious  service,  and  to  fight  against 
Egther,  the  King  of  Permland,  and  Thengil,  the  King 
of  Finmark,  since  they  alone  seemed  to  repudiate  the 
Danish  rule,  while  all  men  else  submitted.  Without 
delay  he  led  his  army  to  that  country.  Now,  the  Finns 
are  the  uttermost  peoples  of  the  North,  who  have  taken 
a  portion  of  the  world  that  is  barely  habitable  to  till  and 
dwell  in.  They  are  very  keen  spearmen,  and  no  nation 
has  a  readier  skill  in  throwing  the  javelin.  They  fight 
with  large,  broad  arrows ;  they  are  addicted  to  the  study 
of  spells;  they  are  skilled  hunters.  Their  habitation  is 
not  fixed,  and  their  dwellings  are  migratory;  they  pitch 
and  settle  wherever  they  have  caught  game.  Riding  on 
curved  boards  (skees  or  snow-skates),  they  run  over 
ridges  thick  with  snow.  These  men  Arngrim  attacked, 
in  order  to  win  renown,  and  he  crushed  them.     They 

336 


BOOK  FIVE 

fought  with  ill  success;  but,  as  they  were  scattering  in 
flight,  they  cast  three  pebbles  behind  them,  which  they 
caused  to  appear  to  the  eyes  of  the  enemy  like  three 
mountains.  Arngrim's  eyes  were  dazzled  and  deluded, 
and  he  called  back  his  men  from  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy, 
fancying  that  he  was  checked  l)y  a  barrier  of  mighty 
rocks.  Again,  when  they  engaged  and  were  beaten  on 
the  morrow,  the  Finns  cast  snow  upon  the  ground  and 
made  it  look  like  a  mighty  river.  So  the  Swedes,  whose 
eyes  were  utterly  deluded,  were  deceived  by  their  mis- 
judgment,  for  it  seemed  the  roaring  of  an  extraordinary 
mass  (jf  waters.  Thus,  the  conqueror  dreading  the  un- 
substantial phantom  of  the  waters,  the  Finns  managed  to 
escape.  They  renewed  the  war  again  on  the  third  day; 
but  there  was  no  effective  means  of  escape  left  any  longer, 
for  when  they  saw  that  their  lines  were  falling  back, 
they  surrendered  to  the  conqueror.  Arngrim  imposed 
on  them  the  following  terms  of  tribute:  that  the  number 
of  the  Finns  should  be  counted,  and  that,  after  the  lapse 
of  (every)  three  years,  every  ten  of  them  should  pay  a 
carriage-full  of  deer-skins  by  way  of  assessment.  Then 
he  challenged  and  slew  in  single  combat  Egther,  the  cap- 
tain of  the  men  of  Permland,  imposing  on  the  men  of 
Permland  the  condition  that  each  of  them  should  pay 
one  skin.  Enriched  with  these  spoils  and  trophies,  he 
returned  to  Erik,  who  went  w^ith  him  into  Denmark,  and 
poured  loud  praises  of  the  young  warrior  into  the  ear  of 
Erode,  declaring  that  he  who  had  added  the  ends  of  the 
world  to  his  realms  deserved  his  daughter.  Then  Erode, 
considering  his  splendid  deserts,  thought  it  was  not  amiss 

337 

58- 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

to  take  for  a   son-in-law  a  man  who  had   won   wide- 
resounding  fame  by  such  a  roll  of  noble  deeds. 

Arngrim  had  twelve  sons  by  Eyfura,  whose  names  I 
here  subjoin:  Brand,  Biarbe,  Brodd,  Hiarrande;  Tand, 
Tyrfing,  two  Haddings;  Hiortuar,  Hiartuar,  Hrane, 
Anganty.  These  followed  the  business  of  sea-roving  from 
their  youth  up;  and  they  chanced  to  sail  all  in  one  ship 
to  the  island  Samso,  where  they  found  lying  off  the 
coast  two  ships  belonging  to  Hialmar  and  Arvarodd 
(Arrow-Odd)  the  rovers.  These  ships  they  attacked  and 
cleared  of  rowers;  but,  not  knowing  whether  they  had 
cut  down  the  captains,  they  fitted  the  bodies  of  the  slain 
to  their  several  thwarts,  and  found  that  those  whom  they 
sought  were  missing.  At  this  they  were  sad,  knowing 
that  the  victory  they  had  won  was  not  worth  a  straw,  and 
that  their  safety  would  run  much  greater  risk  in  the  battle 
that  was  to  come.  In  fact,  Hialmar  and  Arvarodd, 
whose  ships  had  been  damaged  by  a  storm,  which  had 
torn  off  their  rudders,  went  into  a  wood  to  hew  another ; 
and,  going  round  the  trunk  with  their  axes,  pared  down 
the  shapeless  timber  until  the  huge  stock  assumed  the 
form  of  a  marine  implement.  This  they  shouldered,  and 
were  bearing  it  down  to  the  l^each,  ignorant  of  the  dis- 
aster of  their  friends,  when  the  sons  of  Eyfura,  reeking 
with  the  fresh  blood  of  the  slain,  attacked  them,  so  that 
they  two  had  to  fight  many;  the  contest  was  not  even 
equal,  for  it  was  a  band  of  twelve  against  two.  But  the 
victory  did  not  go  according  to  the  numbers.  For  all  the 
sons  of  Eyfura  were  killed;  Hialmar  was  slain  by  them, 
but  Arvarodd  gained  the  honours  of  victory,  being  the 

338 


BOOK  FIVE 

only  survivor  left  by  fate  out  of  all  that  band  of  com- 
rades. He,  with  an  incredible  effort,  poised  the  still 
shapeless  hulk  of  the  rudder,  and  drove  it  so  strongly 
against  the  bodies  of  his  foes  that,  with  a  single  thrust  of 
it,  he  battered  and  crushed  all  twelve.  And,  so,  though 
they  were  rid  of  the  general  storm  of  war,  the  band  of 
rovers  did  not  yet  quit  the  ocean. 

This  it  was  that  chiefly  led  Frode  to  attack  the  West, 
for  his  one  desire  was  the  spread  of  peace.  So  he 
summoned  Erik,  and  mustered  a  fleet  of  all  the  kingdoms 
that  did  him  allegiance,  and  sailed  to  Britain  with  num- 
berless ships.  But  the  king  of  that  island,  perceiving 
that  he  was  unequal  in  force  (for  the  ships  seemed  to 
cover  the  sea),  went  to  Frode,  affecting  to  surrender, 
and  not  only  began  to  flatter  his  greatness,  but  also  prom- 
ised to  the  Danes,  the  conquerors  of  nations,  the  sub- 
mission of  himself  and  of  his  countr}' ;  proffering  taxes, 
assessment,  tribute,  what  they  would.  Finally,  he  gave 
them  a  hospitable  invitation.  Frode  was  pleased  with 
the  courtesy  of  the  Briton,  though  his  suspicions  of 
treachery  were  kept  by  so  ready  and  unconstrained  a 
promise  of  everything,  so  speedy  a  surrender  of  the  enemy 
before  fighting;  such  offers  being  seldom  made  in  good 
faith.  They  were  also  troubled  with  alarm  about  the 
banquet,  fearing  that  as  drunkenness  came  on  their  sober 
wits  might  be  entangled  in  it,  and  attacked  l)y  hidden 
treachery.  So  few  guests  were  bidden,  moreover,  that 
it  seemed  unsafe  for  them  to  accept  the  invitation ;  and 
it  was  further  thought  foolish  to  trust  their  lives  to  the 
good  faith  of  an  enemy  whom  they  did  not  know. 

339 


SAXO  CRAMMATICUS 

When  the  king  found  their  minds  tHus  wavering  he 
again  approached  Frode,  and  invited  him  to  the  banquet 
with  2,400  rnen ;  having  before  bidden  him  to  come  to  the 
feast  with  1,200  nobles.  Frode  was  encouraged  by  the 
increase  in  the  number  of  guests,  and  was  able  to  go  to 
the  banquet  with  greater  inward  confidence ;  but  he  could 
not  yet  lay  aside  his  suspicions,  and  privily  caused  men 
to  scour  the  interior  and  let  him  know  quickly  of  any 
treachery  which  they  might  espy.  On  this  errand  they 
went  into  the  forest,  and,  coming  upon  the  array  of  an 
armed  encampment  belonging  to  the  forces  of  the  Britons, 
they  halted  in  doubt,  but  hastily  retraced  their  steps  when 
the  truth  was  apparent.  For  the  tents  were  dusky  in 
colour,  and  muffled  in  a  sort  of  pitchy  coverings,  that 
they  might  not  catch  the  eye  of  anyone  who  came  near. 
When  Frode  learned  this,  he  arranged  a  counter-ambus- 
cade with  a  strong  force  of  nobles,  that  he  might  not  go 
heedlessly  to  the  banquet,  and  be  cheated  of  timely  aid. 
They  went  into  hiding,  and  he  warned  them  that  the  note 
of  the  trumpet  was  the  signal  for  them  to  bring  assist- 
ance. Then  with  a  select  band,  lightly  armed,  he  went 
to  the  banquet.  The  hall  was  decked  with  regal  splen- 
dour; it  was  covered  all  round  with  crimson  hangings 
of  marvellous  rich  handiwork.  A  curtain  of  purple  dye 
adorned  the  panelled  walls.  The  flooring  was  bestrewn 
with  bright  mantles,  which  a  man  would  fear  to  trample 
on.  Up  above  was  to  be  seen  the  twinkle  of  many  lan- 
terns, the  gleam  of  lamps  lit  with  oil,  and  the  censers 
poured  forth  fragrance  whose  sweet  vapour  was  laden 
with  the  choicest  perfumes.    The  whole  way  was  blocked 

340 


BOOK  FIVE 

by  the  tables  loaded  with  good  things;  and  the  places 
for  reclining  were  decked  with  gold-embroidered  couches ; 
the  seats  were  full  of  pillows.  The  majestic  hall  seemed 
to  smile  upon  the  guests,  and  nothing  could  be  noticed 
in  all  that  pomp  either  inharmonious  to  the  eye  or  offen- 
sive to  the  smell.  In  the  midst  of  the  hall  stood  a  great 
butt  ready  for  refilling  the  goblets,  and  holding  an  enor- 
mous amount  of  liquor;  enough  could  be  drawn  from  it 
for  the  huge  revel  to  drink  its  fill.  Servants,  dressed  in 
purple,  bore  golden  cups,  and  courteously  did  the  office 
of  serving  the  drink,  pacing  in  ordered  ranks.  Nor  did 
they  fail  to  off"er  the  draught  in  the  horns  of  the  wild  ox. 
The  feast  glittered  with  golden  bowls,  and  was  laden 
with  shining  goblets,  many  of  them  studded  with  flash- 
ing jewels.  The  place  was  filled  with  an  immense 
luxury ;  the  tables  groaned  with  the  dishes,  and  the  bowls 
brimmed  over  with  divers  liquors.  Nor  did  they  use 
wine  pure  and  simple,  but,  with  juices  sought  far  and 
wide,  composed  a  nectar  of  many  flavours.  The  dishes 
glistened  with  delicious  foods,  being  filled  mostly  with  the 
spoils  of  the  chase ;  though  the  flesh  of  tame  animals  was 
not  lacking  either.  The  natives  took  care  to  drink  more 
sparingly  than  the  guests;  for  the  latter  felt  safe,  and 
were  tempted  to  make  an  orgy;  while  the  others,  medi- 
tating treachery,  had  lost  all  temptations  to  be  drunken. 
So  the  Danes,  who,  if  I  may  say  so  with  my  country's 
leave,  were  seasoned  to  drain  the  bowl  against  each  other, 
took  quantities  of  wine.  The  Britons,  when  they  saw 
that  the  Danes  were  very  dnrnk,  began  gradually  to  slip 
away  from  the  banquet,  and,  leaving  their  guests  within 

4  341 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

the  hall,  made  immense  efforts,  first  to  block  the  doors  of 
the  palace  by  applying  bars  and  all  kinds  of  obstacles, 
and  then  to  set  fire  to  the  house.  The  Danes  were  penned 
inside  the  hall,  and  when  the  fire  began  to  spread,  battered 
vainly  at  the  doors ;  but  they  could  not  get  out,  and  soon 
attemped  to  make  a  sally  by  assaulting  the  wall.  And 
the  Angles,  when  they  saw  that  it  was  tottering  under  the 
stout  attack  of  the  Danes,  began  to  shove  against  it  on 
their  side,  and  to  prop  the  staggering  pile  by  the  applica- 
tion of  large  blocks  on  the  outside,  to  prevent  the  wall 
being  shattered  and  releasing  the  prisoners.  But  at  last  it 
yielded  to  the  stronger  hand  of  the  Danes,  whose  efforts 
increased  with  their  peril;  and  those  pent  within  could 
sally  out  with  ease.  Then  Frode  bade  the  trumpet  strike 
in,  to  summon  the  band  that  had  been  posted  in  ambush ; 
and  these,  roused  by  the  note  of  the  clanging  bugle, 
caught  the  enemy  in  their  own  trap ;  for  the  King  of  the 
Britons,  with  countless  hosts  of  his  men,  was  utterly 
destroyed.  Thus  the  band  helped  Frode  doubly,  being 
both  the  salvation  of  his  men  and  the  destruction  of  his 
enemies. 

Meantime  the  renown  of  the  Danish  bravery  spread 
far,  and  moved  the  Irish  to  strew  iron  calthrops  on  the 
ground,  in  order  to  make  their  land  harder  to  invade, 
and  forbid  access  to  their  shores.  Now  the  Irish  use 
armour  which  is  light  and  easy  to  procure.  They  crop 
the  hair  close  with  razorSj  and  shave  all  the  hair  off  the 
back  of  the  head,  that  they  may  not  be  seized  by  it  when 
they  run  away.  They  also  turn  the  points  of  their  spears 
towards  the  assailant,  and  deliberately  point  their  sword 

342 


BOOK  FIVE 

against  the  pursuer ;  and  they  generally  fling  their  lances 
behind  their  back,  being  more  skilled  at  conquering  by 
flight  than  by  fighting.  Hence,  when  you  fancy  that  the 
victory  is  yours,  then  is  the  moment  of  danger.  But 
Frode  was  wary  and  not  rash  in  his  pursuit  of  the  foe 
who  fled  so  treacherously,  and  he  routed  Kerwil  (Cear- 
bal),  the  leader  of  the  nation,  in  battle.  Kerwil's  brother 
survived,  but  lost  heart  for  resistance,  and  surrendered 
his  country  to  the  king  (Frode),  who  distributed  among 
his  soldiers  the  tx)Oty  he  had  won,  to  show  himself  free 
from  all  covetousness  and  excessive  love  of  wealth,  and 
only  ambitious  to  gain  honour. 

After  the  triumphs  in  Britain  and  the  spoiling  of  the 
Irish  they  went  back  to  Denmark;  and  for  thirty  years 
there  was  a  pause  from  all  warfare.  At  this  time  the 
Danish  name  l^ecame  famous  over  the  whole  world  almost 
for  its  extraordinary  valour.  Frode,  therefore,  desired 
to  prolong  and  establish  for  ever  the  lustre  of  his  empire, 
and  made  it  his  first  object  to  inflict  severe  treatment 
upon  thefts  and  brigandage,  feeling  these  were  domestic 
evils  and  intestine  plagues,  and  that  if  the  nations  were 
rid  of  them  they  would  come  to  enjoy  a  more  tranquil 
life;  so  that  no  ill-will  should  mar  and  hinder  the  con- 
tinual extention  of  peace.  He  also  took  care  that  the 
land  should  not  be  devoured  by  any  plague  at  home  when 
the  enemy  was  at  rest,  and  that  intestine  wickedness 
should  not  encroach  when  there  was  peace  abroad.  At 
last  he  ordered  that  in  Jutland,  the  chief  district  of  his 
realm,  a  golden  bracelet,  very  heavy,  should  be  set  up  on 
the  highways  (as  he  had  done  before  in  the  district  of 

343 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

Wlk),  wishing  by  this  magnificent  price  to  test  the 
honesty  which  he  had  enacted.  Now,  though  the 
minds  of  the  dishonest  were  vexed  with  the  provocation 
it  furnished,  and  the  souls  of  the  evil  tempted,  yet  the 
unquestioned  dread  of  danger  prevailed.  For  so  potent 
was  the  majesty  of  Frode,  that  it  guarded  even  gold  that 
was  thus  exposed  to  pillage,  as  though  it  were  fast  with 
bolts  and  bars.  The  strange  device  brought  great  glory 
upon  its  inventor.  After  dealing  destruction  every- 
where, and  gaining  famous  victories  far  and  wide,  he 
resolved  to  bestow  quiet  on  all  men,  that  the  cheer  of 
peace  should  follow'  the  horrors  of  war,  and  the  end  of 
slaughter  might  be  the  beginning  of  safety.  He  further 
thought  that  for  the  same  reason  all  men's  property 
should  be  secured  to  them  by  a  protective  decree,  so  that 
what  had  been  saved  from  a  foreign  enemy  might  not 
find  a  plunderer  at  home. 

About  the  same  time,  the  Author  of  our  general  sal- 
vation, coming  to  the  earth  in  order  to  save  mortals,  bore 
to  put  on  the  garb  of  mortality;  at  which  time  the  fires 
of  war  were  quenched,  and  all  the  lands  were  enjoying 
the  calmest  and  most  tranquil  peace.  It  has  been  thought 
that  the  peace  then  shed  abroad  so  widely,  so  even  and 
uninterrupted  over  the  whole  world,  attended  not  so  much 
an  earthly  rule  as  that  divine  birth;  and  that  it  was  a 
heavenly  provision  that  this  extraordinary  gift  of  time 
should  be  a  w'itness  to  the  presence  of  Him  who  created 
all  times. 

Meantime  a  certain  matron,  skilled  in  sorcery,  who 
tnisted  in  her  art  more  than  she  feared  the  severity  of 

344 


BOOK  FIVE 

the  king,  tempted  the  covetousness  of  her  son  to  make  a 
secret  effort  for  the  prize ;  promising  him  impunity,  since 
Frode  was  almost  at  death's  door,  his  body  faihng.  and 
the  remnant  of  his  doting  spirit  feeble.  To  his  mother's 
counsels  he  objected  the  greatness  of  the  peril;  but  she 
bade  him  take  hope,  declaring,  that  either  a  sea-cow  should 
have  a  calf,  or  that  the  king's  vengeance  should  be 
baulked  by  some  other  chance.  By  this  speech  she  ban- 
ished her  son's  fears,  and  made  him  obey  her  advice. 
When  the  deed  was  done,  Frode,  stung  by  the  affront, 
rushed  with  the  utmost  heat  and  fury  to  raze  the  house 
of  the  matron,  sending  men  on  to  arrest  her  and  bring 
her  with  her  children.  This  the  woman  foreknew,  and 
deluded  her  enemies  by  a  trick,  changing  from  the  shape 
of  a  woman  into  that  of  a  mare.  When  Frode  came  up 
she  took  the  shape  of  a  sea-cow,  and  seemed  to  be  stray- 
ing and  grazing  about  the  shore;  and  she  also  made  her 
sons  look  like  calves  of  smaller  size.  This  portent 
amazed  the  king,  and  he  ordered  that  they  should  be  sur- 
rounded and  cut  off  from  returning  to  the  waters.  Then 
he  left  the  carriage,  which  he  used  because  of  the  feeble- 
ness of  his  aged  body,  and  sat  on  the  ground  marvelling. 
But  the  mother,  who  had  taken  the  shape  of  the  larger 
beast,  charged  at  the  king  with  outstretched  tusk,  and 
pierced  one  of  his  sides.  The  wound  killed  him ;  and  his 
end  was  unworthy  of  such  majesty  as  his.  His  soldiers, 
thirsting  to  avenge  his  death,  threw  their  spears  and  trans- 
fixed the  monsters,  and  saw,  when  they  were  killed,  that 
they  were  the  corpses  of  human  beings  with  the  heads  of 
wild  beasts :  a  circumstance  which  exposed  the  trick  more 
ihan  anything.  -.^ 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

So  ended  Frode,  the  most  famous  king  in  the  whole 
world.  The  nobles,  when  he  had  been  disembowelled, 
had  his  body  kept  embalmed  for  three  years,  for  they 
feared  the  provinces  would  rise  if  the  king's  end  were 
published.  They  wished  his  death  to  be  concealed 
above  all  from  foreigners,  so  that  by  the  pretence  that  he 
Avas  alive  they  might  preserve  the  boundaries  of  the  em- 
pire, which  had  been  extended  for  so  long ;  and  that,  on  the 
strength  of  the  ancient  authority  of  their  general,  they 
might  exact  the  usual  tribute  from  their  subjects.  So, 
the  lifeless  corpse  was  carried  away  by  them  in  such  a 
way  that  it  seemed  to  be  taken,  not  in  a  funeral  bier,  but 
in  a  royal  carriage,  as  if  it  were  a  due  and  proper  tribute 
from  the  soldiers  to  an  infirm  old  man  not  in  full  posses- 
sion of  his  forces.  Such  splendour  did  his  friends  be- 
stow on  him  even  in  death.  But  when  his  limbs  rotted, 
and  were  seized  with  extreme  decay,  and  when  the  cor- 
ruption could  not  be  arrested,  they  buried  his  body  with 
a  royal  funeral  in  a  barrow  near  Waere,  a  bridge  of  Zea- 
land ;  declaring  that  Frode  had  desired  to  die  and  be  buried 
in  what  was  thought  the  chief  province  of  his  kingdom. 


346 


BOOK   SIX. 


After  the  death  of  Frode,  the  Danes  wrongly  sup- 
posed that  Fridleif,  who  was  being  reared  in  Russia,  had 
perished;  and,  thinking  that  the  sovereignty  halted  for 
lack  of  an  heir,  and  that  it  could  no  longer  be  kept  on  in 
the  hands  of  the  royal  line,  they  considered  that  the  sceptre 
would  be  best  deserved  by  the  man  who  should  affix  to  the 
yet  fresh  grave  of  Frode  a  song  of  praise  in  his  glorifica- 
tion, and  commit  the  renown  of  the  dead  king  to  after 
ages  by  a  splendid  memorial.  Then  one  Hiarn^  very 
skilled  in  writing  Danish  poetry,  wishing  to  give  the 
fame  of  the  hero  some  notable  record  of  words,  and 
tempted  by  the  enormous  prize,  composed,  after  his  own 
fashion,  a  barbarous  stave.  Its  purport,  expressed  in  four 
lines.  I  have  transcribed  as  follows : 

"Frode,  whom  the  Danes  would  have  wished  to  live 
long,  they  bore  long  through  their  lands  when  he  was 
dead.  The  great  chief's  body,  with  this  turf  heaped 
above  it,  bare  earth  covers  under  the  lucid  sky." 

When  the  composer  of  this  song  had  uttered  it,  the 
Danes  rewarded  him  with  the  crown.  Thus  they  gave 
a  kingdom  for  an  epitaph,  and  the  weight  of  a  whole 
empire  was  presented  to  a  little  string  of  letters.  Slender 
expense  for  so  vast  a  guerdon !  This  huge  payment  for 
a  little  poem  exceeded  the  glory  of  Caesar's  recompense; 

.147 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

for  it  was  enough  for  the  divine  Juhiis  to  pension  with 
a  township  the  writer  and  glorifier  of  those  conquests 
which  he  had  achieved  over  the  whole  world.  But  now 
the  spendthrift  kindness  of  the  populace  squandered  a 
kingdom  on  a  churl.  Nay,  not  even  Africanus,  when 
he  rewarded  the  records  of  his  deed,  rose  to  the  munifi- 
cence of  the  Danes.  For  there  the  wage  of  that  labor- 
ious volume  was  in  mere  gold,  while  here  a  few  callow 
verses  won  a  sceptre  for  a  peasant. 

At  the  same  time  Erik,  who  held  the  governorship  of 
Sweden,  died  of  disease;  and  his  son  Halfdan,  who  gov- 
erned in  his  father's  stead,  alarmed  by  the  many  attacks 
of  twelve  brothers  of  Norwegian  birth,  and  powerless  to 
punish  their  violence,  fled,  hoping  for  reinforcements,  to 
ask  aid  of  Fridleif,  then  sojourning  in  Russia.  Ap- 
proaching him  with  a  suppliant  face,  he  lamented  that  he 
was  himself  shattered  and  bruised  by  a  foreign  foe,  and 
brought  a  dismal  plaint  of  his  wrongs.  From  him  Frid- 
leif heard  the  tidings  of  his  father's  death,  and  granting 
the  aid  he  sought,  went  to  Norway  in  armed  array.  At 
this  time  the  aforesaid  brothers,  their  allies  forsaking 
them,  built  a  very  high  rampart  within  an  island  sur- 
rounded by  a  swift  stream,  also  extending  their  earth- 
works along  the  level.  Trusting  to  this  refuge,  they  har- 
ried the  neighborhood  with  continual  raids.  For  they 
built  a  bridge  on  which  they  used  to  get  to  the  mainland 
when  they  left  the  island.  This  bridge  was  fastened  to 
the  gate  of  the  stronghold;  and  they  worked  it  by  the 
guidance  of  ropes,  in  such  a  way  that  it  turned  as  if  on 
some  revolving  hinge,  and  at  one  time  let  them  pass 

348 


BOOK  SIX 

across  the  river;  while  at  another,  drawn  back  from 
above  by  unseen  cords,  it  helped  to  defend  the  entrance. 
These  warriors  were  of  valiant  temper,  young  and 
stalwart,  of  splendid  bodily  presence,  renowned  for  vic- 
tories over  giants,  full  of  trophies  of  conquered  nations, 
and  wealthy  with  spoil.  I  record  the  names  of  some  of 
them — for  the  rest  have  perished  in  antiquity — Gerbiorn, 
Gunbiorn,  Arinbiorn,  Stenbiorn,  Esbiorn,  Thorbiorn,  and 
Biorn.  Biorn  is  said  to  have  had  a  horse  which  was 
splendid  and  of  exceeding  speed,  so  that  when  all  the  rest 
were  pow^erless  to  cross  the  river  it  alone  stemmed  the 
roaring  eddy  without  weariness.  This  rapid  comes  down 
in  so  swift  and  sheer  a  volume  that  animals  often  lose  all 
power  of  swimming  in  it,  and  perish.  For,  trickling  from 
the  topmost  crests  of  the  hills,  it  comes  down  the  steep 
sides,  catches  on  the  rocks,  and  is  shattered,  falling  into 
the  deep  valleys  with  a  manifold  clamour  of  waters ;  but, 
being  straightway  rebuffed  by  the  rocks  that  bar  the  way, 
it  keeps  the  speed  of  its  current  ever  at  the  same  even 
pace.  And  so,  along  the  whole  length  of  the  channel, 
the  waves  are  one  turbid  mass,  and  the  white  foam  brims 
over  everywhere.  But,  after  rolling  out  of  the  narrows  be- 
tween the  rocks,  it  spreads  abroad  in  a  slacker  and  stiller 
flood,  and  turns  into  an  island  a  rock  that  lies  in  its 
course.  On  either  side  of  the  rock  juts  out  a  sheer  ridge, 
thick  with  divers  trees,  which  screen  the  river  from  dis- 
tant view.  Biorn  had  also  a  dog  of  extraordinary  fierce- 
ness, a  terribly  vicious  brute,  dangerous  for  people  to 
live  with,  which  had  often  singly  destroyed  twelve  men. 
But,  since  the  tale  is  hearsay  rather  than  certainty,  let 

349 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

good  judges  weigh  its  credit.  This  dog,  as  I  have 
heard,  was  the  favourite  of  the  giant  Oiiot  (Un-foot), 
and  used  to  watch  his  herd  amid  the  pastures. 

Now  the  warriors,  who  were  always  pillaging  the 
neighbourhood,  used  often  to  commit  great  slaughters. 
Plundering  houses,  cutting  down  cattle,  sacking  every- 
thing, making  great  hauls  of  booty,  rifling  houses,  then 
burning  them,  massacring  male  and  female  promiscu- 
ously— these,  and  not  honest  dealings,  were  their  occupa- 
tions. Fridleif  surprised  them  while  on  a  reckless  raid, 
and  drove  them  all  back  for  refuge  to  the  stronghold; 
he  also  seized  the  immensely  powerful  horse,  whose  rider, 
in  the  haste  of  his  panic,  had  left  it  on  the  hither  side  of 
the  river  in  order  to  fly  betimes ;  for  he  durst  not  take  it 
with  him  over  the  bridge.  Then  Fridleif  proclaimed  that 
he  would  pay  the  weight  of  the  dead  body  in  gold  to  any 
man" who  slew  one  of  those  brothers.  The  hope  of  the 
prize  stimulated  some  of  the  champions  of  the  king;  and 
yet  they  were  fired  not  so  much  with  covetousness  as  v/itli 
valour;  so,  going  secretly  to  Fridleif,  they  promised  to 
attempt  the  task,  vowing  to  sacrifice  their  lives  if  they  did 
not  bring  home  the  severed  heads  of  the  robbers.  Frid- 
leif praised  their  valour  and  their  vows,  but  bidding  the 
onlookers  w-ait,  went  in  the  night  to  the  river,  satisfied 
wuth  a  single  companion.  For,  not  to  seem  better  pro- 
vided with  other  men's  valour  than  with  his  own,  he  de- 
termined to  forestall  their  aid  by  his  own  courage. 
Thereupon  he  crushed  and  killed  his  companion  with  a 
shower  of  flints,  and  flung  his  bloodless  corpse  into  the 
waves,  having  dressed  it  in  his  own  clothes;  which  he 

350 


BOOK  SIX 

stripped  off,  txDrrowing  the  cast-off  garb  of  the  other,  so 
that  when  the  corpse  was  seen  it  might  look  as  if  the  king 
had  perished.  He  further  dehberately  drew  blood  from 
the  beast  on  which  he  had  ridden,  and  bespattered  it,  so 
that  when  it  came  back  into  camp  he  might  make  them 
think  he  himself  was  dead.  Then  he  set  spur  to  his  horse 
and  drove  it  into  the  midst  of  the  eddies,  crossed  the  river 
and  alighted,  and  tried  to  climb,  over  the  rampart  that 
screened  the  stronghold  by  steps  set  up  against  the  mound. 
When  he  got  over  the  top  and  could  grasp  the  battlements 
with  his  hand,  he  quietly  put  his  foot  inside,  and,  without 
the  know'ledge  of  the  watch,  went  lightly  on  tiptoe  to  the 
house  into  which  the  bandits  had  gone  to  carouse.  And 
when  he  had  reached  its  hall,  he  sat  down  under  the  porch 
overhanging  the  door.  Now  the  strength  of  their  fast- 
ness made  the  warriors  feel  so  safe  that  they  were  tempted 
to  a  debauch;  for  they  thought  that  the  swiftly  rushing 
river  made  their  garrison  inaccessible,  since  it  seemed  im- 
possible either  to  swim  over  or  to  cross  in  boats.  For 
no  part  of  the  river  allowed  of  fording. 

Biorn,  moved  by  the  revel,  said  that  in  his  sleep  he 
had  seen  a  beast  come  out  of  the  waters,  which  spouted 
ghastly  fire  from  its  mouth,  enveloping  everything  in  a 
sheet  of  flame.  Therefore  the  holes  and  corners  of  the 
island  should,  he  said,  be  searched;  nor  ought  they  to 
trust  so  much  to  their  position,  as  rashly  to  let  overween- 
ing confidence  bring  them  to  utter  ruin.  No  situation 
was  so  strong  that  the  mere  protection  of  nature  was 
enough  for  it  without  human  effort.  Moreover  they 
must  take  great  care  that  the  warning  of  his  slumbers 

35^ 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

was  not  followed  by  a  yet  more  gloomy  and  disastrous 
fulfilment.  So  they  all  sallied  forth  from  the  stronghold, 
and  narrowly  scanned  the  whole  circuit  of  the  island ;  and 
finding  the  horse  they  surmised  that  Fridleif  had  been 
drowned  in  the  waters  of  the  river.  They  received  the 
horse  within  the  gates  with  rejoicing,  supposing  that  it 
had  flung  off  its  rider  and  swum  over.  But  Biorn,  still 
scared  with  the  memory  of  the  visions  of  the  night,  ad- 
vised them  to  keep  watch,  since  it  was  not  safe  for  them 
yet  to  put  aside  suspicion  of  danger.  Then  he  went  to 
his  room  to  rest,  with  the  memory  of  his  vision  deeply 
stored  in  his  heart. 

Meanwhile  the  horse,  which  Fridleif,  in  order  to  spread 
a  belief  in  his  death,  had  been  loosed  and  besprinkled 
with  blood  (though  only  with  that  which  lies  between 
flesh  and  skin),  burst  all  bedabbled  into  the  camp  of  his 
soldiers.  They  went  straight  to  the  river,  and  finding 
the  carcase  of  the  slave,  took  it  for  the  body  of  the  king ; 
the  hissing  eddies  having  cast  it  on  the  bank,  dressed  in 
brave  attire.  Nothing  helped  their  mistake  so  much  as 
the  swelling  of  the  battered  body;  inasmuch  as  the  skin 
was  torn  and  bruised  with  the  flints,  so  that  all  the  fea- 
tures were  blotted  out,  bloodless  and  wan.  This  exas- 
perated the  champions  who  had  just  promised  Fridleif  to 
see  that  the  robbers  were  extirpated :  and  they  approached 
the  perilous  torrent,  that  they  might  not  seem  to  tarnish 
the  honour  of  their  promise  by  a  craven  neglect  of  their 
vow.  The  rest  imitated  their  boldness,  and  with  equal 
ardour  went  to  the  river,  ready  to  avenge  their  king  or 
to  endure  the  worst.     AMien  Fridleif  saw  them  he  hast- 

352 


BOOK  SIX 

ened  to  lower  the  bridge  to  the  mainland;  and  when  he 
had  got  the  champions  he  cut  down  the  watch  at  the  first 
attack.  Thus  he  went  on  to  attack  the  rest  and  put  them 
to  the  sword,  all  save  Biorn ;  whom  he  tended  very  care- 
fully and  cured  of  his  wounds ;  whereupon,  under  pledge 
of  solemn  oath,  he  made  him  his  colleague,  thinking  it 
better  to  use  his  services  than  to  boast  of  his  death.  He 
also  declared  it  would  be  shameful  if  such  a  flower  of 
bravery  were  plucked  in  his  first  youth  and  perished  by 
an  untimely  death. 

Now  the  Danes  had  long  ago  had  false  tidings  of  Frid- 
leif's  death,  and  when  they  found  that  he  was  approach- 
ing, they  sent  men  to  fetch  him,  and  ordered  Hiarn  to 
quit  the  sovereignty,  because  he  was  thought  to  be  hold- 
ing it  only  on  sufferance  and  carelessly.  But  he  could 
not  bring  himself  to  resign  such  an  honour,  and  chose 
sooner  to  spend  his  life  for  glory  than  pass  into  the  dim 
lot  of  common  men.  Therefore  he  resolved  to  fight  for 
his  present  estate,  that  he  might  not  have  to  resume  his 
former  one  stripped  of  his  royal  honours.  Thus  the  land 
was  estranged  and  vexed  with  the  hasty  commotion  of 
civil  strife;  some  were  of  Hiarn's  party,  while  others 
agreed  to  the  claims  of  Fridleif,  because  of  the  vast  ser- 
vices of  Frode;  and  the  voice  of  the  commons  was  per- 
plexed and  divided,  some  of  them  respecting  things  as 
they  were,  others  the  memory  of  the  past.  But  regard 
for  the  memory  of  Frode  weighed  most,  and  its  sweetness 
gave  Fridleif  the  balance  of  popularity. 

Many  wise  men  thought  that  a  person  of  peasant 
rank  should  be  removed  from  the  sovereignty ;  since,  con- 

353 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

trary  to  the  rights  of  birth,  and  only  by  the  favour  of 
fortune,  he  had  reached  an  unhoped-for  eminence;  and 
in  order  that  the  unlawful  occupant  might  not  debar  the 
rightful  heir  to  the  office,  Fridleif  told  the  envoys  of 
the  Danes  to  return,  and  request  Hiarn  either  to  resign 
the  kingdom  or  to  meet  him  in  battle.  Hiarn  thought  it 
more  grievous  than  death  to  set  lust  of  life  before  honour, 
and  to  seek  safety  at  the  cost  of  glory.  So  he  met  Frid- 
leif in  the  field,  was  crushed,  and  fled  into  Jutland,  where, 
rallying  a  band,  he  again  attacked  his  conqueror.  But 
his  men  were  all  consumed  with  the  sword,  and  he  fled 
unattended,  as  the  island  testifies  which  has  taken  its  name 
from  his  (Hiarno).  And  so,  feeling  his  lowly  fortune, 
and  seeing  himself  almost  stripped  of  his  forces  by  the 
double  defeat,  he  turned  his  mind  to  craft,  and  went 
to  Fridleif  with  his  face  disguised,  meaning  to  become 
intimate,  and  find  an  occasion  to  slay  him  treacher- 
ously. 

Hiarn  was  received  by  the  king,  hiding  his  purpose 
under  the  pretence  of  servitude.  For,  giving  himself  out 
as  a  salt-distiller,  he  performed  base  offices  among  the 
servants  who  did  the  filthiest  work.  He  used  also  to  take 
the  last  place  at  meal-time,  and  he  refrained  from  the 
baths,  lest  his  multitude  of  scars  should  betray  him  if  he 
stripped.  The  king,  in  order  to  ease  his  own  suspicions, 
made  him  wash;  and  when  he  knew  his  enemy  by  the 
scars,  he  said:  "Tell  me  now,  thou  shameless  bandit, 
how  \vouldst  thou  have  dealt  with  me,  if  thou  hadst  found 
out  plainly  that  I  wished  to  murder  thee?"  Hiarn,  stupe- 
fied, said:     "Had  I  caught  thee  I  would  have  first  chal- 

354 


BOOK  SIX 

lenged  thee,  and  then  fought  thee,  to  give  thee  a  better 
chance  of  wiping  out  thy  reproacli."  Fridleif  presently 
took  him  at  his  word,  challenged  him  and  slew  him,  and 
buried  his  body  in  a  barrow  that  bears  the  dead  man's 
name. 

Soon  after  Fridleif  was  admonished  by  his  people  to 
think  about  marrying,  that  he  might  prolong  his  line; 
but  he  maintained  that  the  unmarried  life  was  best,  quot- 
ing his  father  Frode,  on  whom  his  wife's  wantonness  had 
brought  great  dishonour.  At  last,  yielding  to  the  per- 
sistent entreaties  of  all,  he  proceeded  to  send  ambassadors 
to  ask  for  the  daughter  of  Amund,  King  of  Norway. 
One  of  these,  named  Frok,  was  swallowed  b}'-  the  waves 
in  mid-voyage,  and  shewed  a  strange  portent  at  his  death. 
For  when  the  closing  flood  of  billows  encompassed  him. 
blood  arose  in  the  midst  of  the  eddy,  and  the  whole  face 
of  the  sea  was  steeped  with  an  alien  redness,  so  that  the 
ocean,  w^hich  a  moment  before  was  foaming  and  white 
with  tempest,  was  presently  swollen  with  crimson  waves, 
and  was  seen  to  wear  a  colour  foreign  to  its  nature. 

Amund  implacably  declined  to  consent  to  the  wishes  of 
the  king,  and  treated  the  legates  shamefully,  declaring 
that  he  spurned  the  embassy  because  the  tyranny  of  Frode 
had  of  old  borne  so  heavily  upon  Norway.  But  Amund's 
daughter,  Frogertha,  not  only  looking  to  the  birth  of 
V  Fridleif,  but  also  honouring  the  glory  of  his  deeds,  began 
i  to  upbraid  her  father,  because  he  scorned  a  son-in-law 
whose  nobility  was  perfect,  being  l30th  sufficient  in  valour 
and  flawless  in  birth.  She  added  that  the  portentous 
aspect  of  the  sea,  when  the  waves  were  suddenly  turned 

355 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

into  blood,  simply  and  solely  signified  the  defeat  of  Nor- 
way, and  was  a  plain  presage  of  the  victory  of  Denmark. 
And  when  Fridleif  sent  a  further  embassy  to  ask  for  her, 
wishing  to  vanquish  the  refusal  by  persistency,  Amund 
was  indignant  that  a  petition  he  had  once  denied  should 
be  obstinately  pressed,  and  hurried  the  envoys  to  death, 
w'ishing  to  offer  a  brutal  check  to  the  zeal  of  this  brazen 
wooer.  Fridleif  heard  news  of  this  outrage,  and  sum- 
moning Halfdan  and  Biorn,  sailed  round  Norway. 
Amund,  equipped  with  his  native  defences,  put  out  his 
fleet  against  him.  The  firth  into  which  both  fleets  had 
mustered  is  called  Frokasund,  Here  Fridleif  left  the 
camp  at  night  to  reconnoitre;  and,  hearing  an  unusual 
kind  of  sound  close  to  him  as  of  brass  being  beaten,  he 
stood  still  and  looked  up,  and  heard  the  following  song 
of  three  swans,  who  were  crying  above  him: 

"While  Hythin  sweeps  the  sea  and  cleaves  the  ravening 
tide,  his  serf  drinks  out  of  gold  and  licks  the  cups  of 
milk.  Best  is  the  estate  of  the  slave  on  whom  waits  the 
heir,  the  king's  son,  for  their  lots  are  rashly  interchanged." 
Next,  after  the  birds  had  sung,  a  belt  fell  from  on  high, 
which  showed  writing  to  interpret  the  song.  For  while 
the  son  of  Hythin,  the  King  of  Tellemark,  was  at  his 
boyish  play,  a  giant,  assuming  the  usual  appearance  of 
men,  had  carried  him  off,  and  using  him  as  an  oarsman 
(having  taken  his  skiff  over  to  the  neighbouring  shore), 
was  then  sailing  past  Fridleif  while  he  was  occupied  re- 
connoitering.  But  the  king  would  not  suffer  him  to  use 
the  service  of  the  captive  youth,  and  longed  to  rob  the 
spoiler  of  his  prey.     The  youth  warned  him  that  he  must 

356 


BOOK  SIX 

first  use  sharp  reviling  against  the  giant,  promising  that 
he  would  prove  easy  to  attack,  if  only  he  were  assailed 
with  biting  verse.     Then  Fridleif  began  thus : 

"Since  thou  art  a  giant  of  three  bodies,  invincible,  and 
almost  reachest  heaven  with  thy  crest,  why  does  this  silly 
sword  bind  thy  thigh?  Wliy  doth  a  broken  spear  gird 
thy  huge  side?  Why,  perchance,  dost  thou  defend  thy 
stalwart  breast  with  a  feeble  :w'ord,  and  forget  the  like- 
ness of  thy  bodily  stature,  trusting  in  a  short  dagger,  a 
petty  weapon?'  Soon,  soon  will  I  bulk  thy  bold  onset, 
when  with  blunted  blade  thou  attemptest  war.  Since 
thou  art  thyself  a  timid  beast,  a  lump  lacking  proper  pith, 
thou  art  swept  headlong  like  a  flying  shadow,  having  with 
a  fair  and  famous  body  got  a  heart  that  is  unwarlike  and 
unstable  with  fear,  and  a  spirit  quite  unmatched  to  thy 
limbs.  Hence  thy  frame  totters,  for  thy  goodly  presence 
is  faulty  through  the  overthrow  of  thy  soul,  and  thy 
nature  in  all  her  parts  is  at  strife.  Hence  shall  all  tribute 
of  praise  quit  thee,  nor  shalt  thou  be  accoimted  famous 
among  the  brave,  but  shalt  be  reckoned  among  ranks 
obscure." 

When  he  had  said  this  he  lopped  off  a  hand  and  foot  of 
the  giant,  made  him  fly,  and  set  his  prisoner  free.  Then 
he  went  straightway  to  the  giant's  headland,  took  the 
treasure  out  of  his  cave,  and  carried  it  away.  Rejoic- 
ing in  these  trophies,  and  employing  the  kidnapped  youth 
to  row  him  over  the  sea,  he  composed  with  cheery  voice 
the  following  strain : 

"In  the  slaying  of  the  swift  monster  we  wielded  or" 
blood-stained   swords  and  our   crimsoned  blade,   whilst 

5  357 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

thou,  Amund,  lord  of  the  Norwegian  ruin,  wert  in  deep 
shimber;  and  since  Wind  night  covers  thee,  without  any 
light  of  soul,  thy  valour  has  melted  away  and  beguiled 
thee.  But  we  crushed  a  giant  who  lost  use  of  his  limbs 
and  wealth,  and  we  pierced  into  the  disorder  of  his  dreary 
den.  There  we  seized  and  plundered  his  piles  of  gold. 
And  now  with  oars  we  sweep  the  wave-wandering  main, 
and  joyously  return,  rowing  back  to  the  shore  our  booty- 
laden  ship ;  we  fleet  over  the  waves  in  a  skiff  that  travels 
the  sea;  gaily  let  us  furrow  those  open  waters,  lest  the 
dawn  come  and  betray  us  to  the  foe.  Lightly  therefore, 
and  pulling  our  hardest,  let  us  scour  the  sea,  making  for 
our  camp  and  fleet  ere  Titan  raise  his  rosy  head  out  of 
the  clear  waters;  that  when  fame  noises  the  deed  about, 
and  Frogertha  knows  that  the  spoil  has  been  won  with  a 
gallant  struggle,  her  heart  may  be  stirred  to  be  more  gen- 
tle to  our  prayer." 

On  the  morrow  there  was  a  great  muster  of  the  forces, 
and  Fridleif  had  a  bloody  battle  with  Amund,  fought 
partly  by  sea  and  partly  by  land.  For  not  only  were  the 
lines  drawn  up  in  the  open  country,  but  the  warriors  also 
made  an  attack  with  their  fleet.  The  battle  which  fol- 
lowed cost  much  blood.  So  Biorn,  when  his  ranks  gave 
back,  unloosed  his  hound  and  sent  it  against  the  enemy; 
wishing  to  win  with  the  biting  of  a  dog  the  victory 
which  he  could  not  achieve  with  the  sword.  The  enemy 
were  by  this  means  shamefully  routed,  for  a  square  of 
the  warriors  ran  away  when  attacked  with  its  teeth. 

There  is  no  saying  whether  their  flight  was  more  dis- 
mal or  more  disgraceful.     Indeed,  the  army  of  the  North- 

358 


500a:  six 

men  was  a  thing  to  blush  for;  for  an  enemy  crushed  it  by 
IxDrrowing  the  aid  of  a  brute.  Nor  was  it  treacherous 
of  Fridleif  to  recruit  the  faih'ng  valour  of  his  men  with 
the  aid  of  a  dog.  In  this  war  Amund  fell ;  and  his  servant 
Ane.  surnamed  the  Archer,  challenged  Fridleif  to  fight 
him ;  but  Biorn,  being  a  man  of  meaner  estate,  not  suffer- 
ing the  king  to  engage  with  a  common  fellow,  attacked 
him  himself.  And  when  Biom  had  bent  his  bow  and  was 
fitting  the  arrow  to  the  string,  suddenly  a  dart  sent  by 
Ane  pierced  the  top  of  the  cord.  Soon  another  arrow 
came  after  it  and  struck  amid  the  joints  of  his  fingers. 
A  third  followed,  and  fell  on  the  arrow  as  it  was  laid  to 
the  string.  For  Ane,  who  was  most  dexterous  at  shoot- 
ing arrows  from  a  distance,  had  purposely  only  struck  the 
weapon  of  his  opponent,  in  order  that,  by  showing  it  was 
in  his  power  to  do  likewise  to  his  person,  he  might  recall 
the  champion  from  his  purpose.  But  Biorn  abated  none 
of  his  valour  for  this,  and,  scorning  bodily  danger,  en- 
tered the  fray  with  heart  and  face  so  steadfast,  that  he 
seemed  neither  to  yield  anytliing  to  the  skill  of  Ane,  nor 
lay  aside  aught  of  his  wonted  courage.  Thus  he  would 
in  nowise  be  made  to  swerve  from  his  purpose,  and  daunt- 
lessly  ventured  on  the  battle.  Both  of  them  left  it 
wounded;  and  fought  another  also  on  Agdar  Ness  with 
an  emulous  thirst  for  glory. 

By  the  death  of  Amund.  Fridleif  was  freed  from  a 
most  bitter  foe,  and  obtained  a  deep  and  tranquil  peace; 
whereupon  he  forced  his  savage  temper  to  the  ser\''ice  of 
delight ;  and,  transferring  his  ardour  to  love,  equipped 
a  fleet  in  order  to  seek  the  marriage  which  had  once  been 

359 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

denied  him.  At  last  he  set  forth  on  his  voyage;  and  his 
fleet  being  becalmed,  he  invaded  some  villages  to  look 
for  food;  where,  being  received  hospitably  by  a  certain 
Grubb,  and  at  last  winning  his  daughter  in  marriage,  he 
begat  a  son  named  Olaf.  After  some  time  had  passed  he 
also  won  Frogertha;  but,  while  going  back  to  his  own 
'  country,  he  had  a  bad  voyage,  and  was  driven  on  the 
shores  of  an  unknown  island.  A  certain  man  appeared 
to  him  in  a  vision,  and  instructed  him  to  dig  up  a  treas- 
ure that  was  buried  in  the  ground,  and  also  to  attack  the 
dragon  that  guarded  it,  covering  himself  in  an  ox-hide  to 
escape  the  poison;  teaching  him  also  to  meet  the  en- 
venomed fangs  with  a  hide  stretched  over  his  shield. 
Therefore,  to  test  the  vision,  he  attacked  the  snake  as  it 
rose  out  of  the  waves,  and  for  a  long  time  cast  spears 
against  its  scaly  side;  in  vain,  for  its  hard  and  shelly 
body  foiled  the  darts  flung  at  it.  But  the  snake,  shak- 
ing its  mass  of  coils,  uprooted  the  trees  which  it  brushed 
past  by  winding  its  tail  about  them.  Moreover,  by  con- 
stantly dragging  its  body,  it  hollowed  the  ground  down 
to  the  solid  rock,  and  had  made  a  sheer  bank  on  either 
hand,  just  as  in  some  places  we  see  hills  parted  by  an  in- 
tervening valley.  So  Fridleif,  seeing  that  the  upper  part 
of  the  creature  was  proof  against  attack,  assailed  the  lower 
side  with  his  sword,  and  piercing  the  groin,  drew  blood 
from  the  quivering  beast.  When  it  was  dead,  he  un- 
earthed the  money  from  the  underground  chamber  and 
had  it  taken  off  in  his  ships. 

When  the  year  had  come  to  an  end,  he  took  great  pains 
to  reconcile  Biorn  and  Ane,  who  had  often  challenged 

360 


BOOK  SIX 

and  fought  one  another,  and  made  them  exchange  their 
hatred  for  friendship;  and  even  entrusted  to  them  his 
three-year-old  son,  Olaf,  to  rear.  But  his  mistress, 
Juritha,  the  mother  of  Olaf,  he  gave  in  marriage  to  Ane, 
whom  he  made  one  of  his  warriors;  thinking  that  she 
would  endure  more  calmly  to  be  put  away,  if  she  wedded 
such  a  champion,  and  received  his  robust  embrace  instead 
of  a  king's. 

The  ancients  were  wont  to  consult  the  oracles  of  the 
Fates  concerning  the  destinies  of  their  children.  In  this 
way  Fridleif  desired  to  search  into  the  fate  of  his  son 
Olaf ;  and,  after  solemnly  offering  up  his  vows,  he  went 
to  the  house  of  the  gods  in  entreaty ;  where,  looking  into 
the  chapel,  he  saw  three  maidens,  sitting  on  three  seats. 
The  first  of  them  was  of  a  benignant  temper,  and  be- 
stowed upon  the  boy  abundant  beauty  and  ample  store  of 
favour  in  the  eyes  of  men.  The  second  granted  him  the 
gift  of  surpassing  generosity.  But  the  third,  a  woman 
of  more  mischievous  temper  and  malignant  disposition, 
scorning  the  unanimous  kindness  of  her  sisters,  and  like- 
wise wishing  to  mar  their  gifts,  marked  the  future  char- 
acter of  the  boy  with  the  slur  of  niggardliness.  Thus  the 
benefits  of  the  others  were  spoilt  by  the  poison  of  a 
lamentable  doom;  and  hence,  by  virture  of  the  twofold 
nature  of  these  gifts  Olaf  got  his  surname  from  the  mean- 
ness which  was  mingled  with  his  bounty.  So  it  came 
about  that  this  blemish  which  found  its  way  into  the  gift 
marred  the  whole  sweetness  of  its  first  benignity. 

When  Fridleif  had  returned  from  Norway,  and  was 
traveling  through  Sweden,  he  took  on  himself  to  act  as 

361 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

ambassador,  and  sued  successfully  for  Hythin's  daughter, 
whom  he  had  once  rescued  from  a  monster,  to  be  the  wife 
of  Halfdan,  he  being  still  unvvedded.  Meantime  his  wife 
Frogertha  bore  a  son  FrodE;,  who  afterwards  got  his  sur- 
name from  his  noble  munificence.  And  thus  Frode,  be- 
cause of  the  memory  of  his  grandsire's  prosperity,  which 
he  recalled  by  his  name,  became  from  his  very  cradle  and 
earliest  childhood  such  a  darling  of  all  men,  that  he  was 
not  suffered  even  to  step  or  stand  on  the  ground,  but  was 
continually  cherished  in  people's  laps  and  kissed.  Thus 
he  was  not  assigned  to  one  upbringer  only,  but  was  in  a 
manner  everybody's  fosterling.  And,  after  his  father's 
death,  while  he  was  in  his  twelfth  year,  Swerting  and 
Hanef,  the  kings  of  Saxony,  disowned  his  sway,  and  tried 
to  rebel  openly.  He  overcame  them  in  battle,  and  im- 
posed on  the  conquered  peoples  a  poll-tax  of  a  coin,  which 
they  were  to  pay  as  his  slaves.  For  he  showed  himself 
so  generous  that  he  doubled  the  ancient  pay  of  the  sol- 
diers: a  fashion  of  bounty  which  then  was  novel.  For 
he  did  not,  as  despots  do,  expose  himself  to  the  vulgar 
allurements  of  vice,  but  strove  to  covet  ardently  what- 
soever he  saw  was  nearest  honour;  to  make  his  wealth 
public  property;  to  surpass  all  other  men  in  bounty,  to 
forestall  them  all  in  offices  of  kindness ;  and,  hardest  of 
all,  to  conquer  envy  by  virtue.  By  this  means  the  youth 
soon  won  such  favour  with  all  men,  that  he  not  only 
equalled  in  renown  the  honours  of  his  forefathers,  but 
surpassed  the  most  ancient  records  of  kings. 

At  the  same  time  one  Starkad,  the  son  of  Storwerk, 
escaped  alone,  cither  by  force  or  fortune,  from  a  wreck  in 

362 


BOOK  SIX 

which  his  friends  perished,  and  was  received  by  Frode 
as  his  guest  for  his  incredible  excellence  both  of  mind  and 
body.  And,  after  being  for  some  little  time  his  comrade, 
he  was  dressed  in  a  better  and  more  comely  fashion  every 
day,  and  was  at  last  given  a  noble  vessel,  and  bidden  to 
ply  the  calling  of  a  rover,  with  the  charge  of  guarding 
the  sea.  For  nature  had  gifted  him  with  a  body  of  super- 
human excellence;  and  his  greatness  of  spirit  equalled  it, 
so  that  folk  thought  him  behind  no  man  in  valour.  So 
far  did  his  glory  spread,  that  the  renown  of  his  name  and 
deeds  continues  famous  e\en  yet.  He  shone  out  among 
our  own  countrymen  by  his  glorious  roll  of  exploits,  and 
he  had  also  won  a  most  splendid  record  among  all  the 
provinces  of  the  Swedes  and  Saxons.  Tradition  says 
that  he  w^as  born  originally  in  the  country  which  borders 
Sweden  on  the  east,  where  barbarous  hordes  of  Esthon- 
ians  and  other  nations  now  dwell  far  and  wide.  But  a 
fabulous  yet  common  rumour  has  invented  tales  about 
his  birth  which  are  contrary  to  reason  and  flatly  incred- 
ible. For  some  relate  that  he  was  sprung  from  giants, 
and  betrayed  his  monstrous  birth  by  an  extraordinary 
number  of  hands,  four  of  which,  engendered  by  the  super- 
fluity of  his  nature,  they  declare  that  the  god  Thor  tore 
off,  shattering  the  framework  of  the  sinews  and  wrench- 
ing from  his  whole  body  the  monstrous  bunches  of  fin- 
gers ;  so  that  he  had  but  two  left,  and  that  his  body,  which 
had  before  swollen  to  the  size  of  a  giant's,  and,  by  rea- 
son of  its  shapeless  crowd  of  limbs  looked  gigantic,  was 
thenceforth  chastened  to  a  better  appearance,  and  kept 
within  the  bounds  of  human  shortness. 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

For  there  were  of  old  certain  men  versed  in  sorcery, 
Thor,  namely,  and  Odin,  and  many  others,  who  were 
cunning  in  contriving  marvellous  sleights ;  and  they,  win- 
ning the  minds  of  the  simple,  began  to  claim  the  rank  of 
gods.  For,  in  particular,  they  ensnared  Norway,  Swe- 
den and  Denmark  in  the  vainest  credulity,  and  by  prompt- 
ing these  lands  to  worship  them,  infected  them  with  their 
imposture.  The  effects  of  their  deceit  spread  so  far,  that 
all  other  men  adored  a  sort  of  divine  power  in  them,  and, 
thinking  them  either  gods  or  in  league  with  gods,  offered 
up  solemn  prayers  to  these  inventors  of  sorceries,  and 
gave  to  blasphemous  error  the  honour  due  to  religion. 
Hence  it  has  come  about  that  the  holy  days,  in  their  reg- 
ular course,  are  called  among  us  by  the  names  of  these 
men;  for  the  ancient  Latins  are  known  to  have  named 
these  days  severally,  either  after  the  titles  of  their  own 
gods,  or  after  the  planets,  seven  in  number.  But  it  can 
be  plainly  inferred  from  the  mere  names  of  the  holy  days 
that  the  objects  worshipped  by  our  countrymen  were  not 
the  same  as  those  whom  the  most  ancient  of  the  Romans 
called  Jove  and  Mercury,  nor  those  to  whom  Greece  and 
Latium^  paid  idolatrous  homage.  For  the  days,  called 
among  our  countr}mien  Thors-day  or  Odins-day,  the  an- 
cients termed  severally  the  holy  day  of  Jove  or  of  Mer- 
cury. If,  therefore,  according  to  the  distinction  implied 
in  the  interpretation  I  have  quoted,  we  take  it  that  Thor 
is  Jove  and  Odin  Mercury,  it  follows  that  Jove  was  the 
son  of  Mercury;  that  is,  if  the  assertion  of  our  country- 
men holds,  among  whom  it  is  told  as  a  matter  of  common 
belief,  that  Thor  was  Odin's  son.     Therefore,  when  the 

364 


BOOK  SIX 

Latins,  believing  to  the  contrary  effect,  declare  that  Mer- 
cury was  sprung  from  Jove,  then,  if  their  declaration  is  to 
stand,  we  are  driven  to  consider  that  Thor  was  not  the 
same  as  Jove,  and  that  Odin  was  also  different  from  Mer- 
cury. Some  say  that  the  gods,  whom  our  countrymen 
worshipped,  shared  only  the  title  with  those  honoured 
by  Greece  or  Latium,  but  that,  being  in  a  manner  nearly 
equal  to  them  in  dignity,  they  borrowed  from  them  the 
worship  as  well  as  the  name.  This  must  be  sufficient 
discourse  upon  the  deities  of  Danish  antiquity.  I  have 
expounded  this  briefly  for  the  general  profit,  that  my 
readers  may  know  clearly  to  what  worship  in  its  heathen 
superstition  our  country  has  bowed  the  knee.  Now  I 
will  go  back  to  my  subject  where  I  left  it. 

Ancient  tradition  says  that  Starkad,  whom  I  mentioned 
above,  offered  the  first-fruits  of  his  deeds  to  the  favour  of 
the  gods  by  slaying  Wikar,  the  king  of  the  Norwegians, 
The  affair,  according  to  the  version  of  some  people,  hap- 
pened as  follows: — 

Odin  once  wished  to  slay  Wikar  by  a  grievous  death ; 
but,  loth  to  do  the  deed  openly,  he  graced  Starkad,  who 
was  already  remarkable  for  his  extraordinary  size,  not 
only  with  bravery,  but  also  with  skill  in  the  composing  of 
spells,  that  he  might  the  more  readily  use  his  services  to 
accomplish  the  destruction  of  the  king.  For  that  was 
how  he  hoped  that  Starkad  would  show  himself  grateful 
for  the  honour  he  paid  him.  For  the  same  reason  he 
also  endowed  him  with  three  spans  of  mortal  life,  that 
he  might  be  able  to  commit  in  them  as  many  abominable 
deeds.     So  Odin  resolved  that  Starkad's  days  should  be 

365 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

prolonged  by  the  following  crime:  Starkad  presently 
went  to  Wikar  and  dwelt  awhile  in  his  company,  hiding 
treachery  under  homage.  At  last  he  went  with  him  sea- 
roving.  And  in  a  certain  place  they  were  troubled  with 
prolonged  and  bitter  storms ;  and  when  the  winds  checked 
their  voyage  so  much  that  they  had  to  lie  still  most  of  the 
year,  they  thought  that  the  gods  must  be  appeased  with 
human  blood.  When  the  lots  were  cast  into  the  urn  it 
so  fell  that  the  king  was  required  for  death  as  a  victim. 
Then  Starkad  made  a  noose  of  withies  and  bound  the 
king  in  it;  saying  that  for  a  brief  instant  he  should  pay 
the  mere  semblance  of  a  penalty.  But  the  tightness  of 
the  knot  acted  according  to  its  nature,  and  cut  off  his 
last  breath  as  he  hung.  And  while  he  was  still  quivering 
Starkad  rent  away  with  his  steel  the  remnant  of  his  life; 
thus  disclosing  his  treachery  when  he  ought  to  have 
brought  aid.  I  do  not  think  that  I  need  examine  the  ver- 
sion which  relates  that  the  pliant  withies,  hardened  with 
the  sudden  grip,  acted  like  a  noose  of  iron. 

When  Starkad  had  thus  treacherously  acted  he  took 
Wikar's  ship  and  went  to  one  Bemon,  the  most  courage- 
ous of  all  the  rovers  of  Denmark,  in  order  to  take  up  the 
life  of  a  pirate.  For  Bemon's  partner,  named  Frakk, 
weary  of  the  toil  of  sea-roving,  had  lately  withdrawn 
from  partnership  with  him,  after  first  making  a  money- 
bargain.  Now  Starkad  and  Bemon  were  so  careful  to 
keep  temperate,  that  they  are  said  never  to  have  indulged 
in  intoxicating  drink,  for  fear  that  continence,  the  great- 
est bond  of  bravery,  might  be  expelled  by  the  power  of 
wantonness.     So  when,  after  overthrowing  provinces  far 


BOOK  SIX 

and  wide,  tliey  invaded  Russia  also  in  their  lust  for  em- 
pire, the  natives,  trusting  little  in  their  walls  or  arms,  be- 
gan to  bar  the  advance  of  the  enemy  with  nails  of  un- 
common sharpness,  that  they  might  check  their  inroad, 
though  they  could  not  curb  their  onset  in  battle;  and  that 
the  ground  might  secretly  wound  the  soles  of  the  men 
whom  their  army  shrank  from  confronting  in  the  field. 
But  not  even  such  a  barrier  could  serve  to  keep  off  the 
foe.  The  Danes  were  cunning  enough  to  foil  the  pains 
of  the  Russians.  For  they  straightway  shod  themselves 
with  wooden  clogs,  and  trod  with  unhurt  steps  upon  the 
points  that  lay  beneath  their  soles.  Now  this  iron  thing 
is  divided  into  four  spikes,  which  are  so  arranged  that  on 
whatsoever  side  chance  may  cast  it,  it  stands  steadily  on 
three  equal  feet.  Then  they  struck  into  the  pathless 
glades,  where  the  woods  were  thickets,  and  expelled 
Flokk,  the  chief  of  the  Russians,  from  the  mountain 
hiding-places  into  which  he  had  crept.  And  here  they 
got  so  much  booty,  that  there  was  not  one  of  them  but 
went  back  to  the  fleet  laden  with  gold  and  silver. 

Now  when  Bemon  was  dead,  Starkad  was  summoned 
because  of  his  valour  by  the  champions  of  Permland. 
And  when  he  had  done  many  noteworthy  deeds  among 
them,  he  went  into  the  land  of  the  Swedes,  where  he  lived 
at  leisure  for  seven  years'  space  with  the  sons  of  Frey. 
At  last  he  left  them  and  betook  himself  to  Hakon,  the 
tyrant  of  Denmark,  because  when  stationed  at  Upsala, 
at  the  time  of  the  sacrifices,  he  was  disgusted  by  the  effem- 
inate gestures  and  the  clapping  of  the  mimes  on  the  stage, 
and  by  the  unmanly  clatter  of  the  bells.     Hence  it  is  clear 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

how  far  he  kept  his  soul  from  lasclviousness,  not  even 
enduring  to  look  upon  it.  Thus  does  virtue  withstand 
wantonness. 

Starkad  took  his  fleet  to  the  shore  of  Ireland  with 
Hakon,  in  order  that  even  the  furthest  kingdoms  of 
the  world  might  not  be  untouched  by  the  Danish  arms. 
The  king  of  the  island  at  this  time  was  Hugleik,  who, 
though  he  had  a  well-filled  treasury,  was  yet  so  prone  to 
avarice,  that  once,  when  he  gave  a  pair  of  shoes  which 
had  been  adorned  by  the  hand  of  a  careful  craftsman,  he 
took  off  the  ties,  and  by  thus  removing  the  latches  turned 
his  present  into  a  slight.  This  unhandsome  act  blemished 
his  gift  so  much  that  he  seemed  to  reap  hatred  for  it  in- 
stead of  thanks.  Thus  he  used  never  to  be  generous  to 
any  respectable  man,  but  to  spend  all  his  bounty  upon 
mimes  and  jugglers.  For  so  base  a  fellow  was  bound  to 
keep  friendly  company  with  the  base,  and  such  a  slough 
of  vices  to  wheedle  his  partners  in  sin  with  pandering  en- 
dearments. 

Still  Hugleik  had  the  friendship  of  Geigad  and  Swip- 
dag,  nobles  of  tried  valour,  who,  by  the  lustre  of  their 
warlike  deeds,  shone  out  among  their  unmanly  companions 
like  jewels  embedded  in  ordure ;  these  alone  were  found  to 
defend  the  riches  of  the  king.  When  a  battle  began  be- 
tween Hugleik  and  Hakon,  the  hordes  of  mimes,  whose 
light-mindedness  unsteadied  their  bodies,  broke  their 
ranks  and  scurried  off  in  panic;  and  this  shameful  flight 
was  their  sole  requital  for  all  their  king's  benefits.  Then 
Geigad  and  Swipdag  faced  all  those  thousands  of  the 
enemy   single-handed,   and    fought  with   such    incredible 

368 


BOOK  SIX 

courage,  that  they  seemed  to  do  the  part  not  merely  of 
two  warriors,  but  of  a  whole  army.  Geigad,  moreover, 
dealt  Hakon,  who  pressed  him  hard,  such  a  wound  in 
the  breast  that  he  exposed  the  upper  part  of  his  liver.  It 
was  here  that  Starkad,  while  he  was  attacking  Geigad 
with  his  sword,  received  a  very  sore  wound  on  the  head ; 
wherefore  he  afterwards  related  in  a  certain  song  that  a 
ghastlier  wound  had  never  befallen  him  at  any  time ;  for, 
though  the  divisions  of  his  gashed  head  were  bound  up 
by  the  surrounding  outer  skin,  yet  the  livid  unseen  wound 
concealed  a  foul  gangrene  below. 

Starkad  conquered, killed  Hugleik  and  routed  the  Irish; 
and  had  the  actors  beaten  whom  chance  made  prisoner; 
thinking  it  better  to  order  a  pack  of  buffoons  to  be  ludi- 
crously punished  by  the  loss  of  their  skins  than  to  com- 
mand a  more  deadly  punishment  and  take  their  lives. 
Thus  he  visited  with  a  disgraceful  chastisement  the  base- 
bom  throng  of  professional  jugglers,  and  was  content  to 
punish  them  with  the  disgusting  flouts  of  the  lash.  Then 
the  Danes  ordered  that  the  wealth  of  the  king  should  be 
brought  out  of  the  treasury  in  the  city  of  Dublin  and  pub- 
licly pillaged.  For  so  vast  a  treasure  had  been  found 
that  none  took  much  pains  to  divide  it  strictly. 

After  this,  Starkad  was  commissioned,  together  with 
Win,  the  chief  of  the  Sclavs,  to  check  the  revolt  of  the 
East.  They,  having  fought  against  the  armies  of  the 
Kurlanders,  the  Sembs,  the  Sangals,  and,  finally,  all  the 
Easterlings,  won  splendid  victories  everywhere. 

A  champion  of  great  repute,  named  Wisin.  settled 
upon  a  rock  in  Russia  named  Ana-fial,  and  harried  both 

369, 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

neighbouring  and  distant  provinces  with  all  kinds  of  out- 
rage. This  man  used  to  blunt  the  edge  of  every  weapon 
by  merely  looking  at  it.  He  was  made  so  bold  in  conse- 
quence, by  having  lost  all  fear  of  wounds,  that  he  used 
to  carry  off  the  wives  of  distinguished  men  and  drag  them 
to  outrage  before  the  eyes  of  their  husbands.  Starkad 
was  roused  by  the  tale  of  this  villainy,  and  went  to  Russia 
to  destroy  the  criminal ;  thinking  nothing  too  hard  to 
overcome,  he  challenged  Wisin,  attacked  him,  made  even 
his  tricks  useless  to  him,  and  slew  him.  For  Starkad 
covered  his  blade  with  a  very  fine  skin,  that  it  might  not 
met  the  e)''e  of  the  sorcerei* ;  and  neither  the  power  of  his 
sleights  nor  his  great  strength  were  any  help  to  Wisin, 
for  he  had  to  yield  to  Starkad.  Then  Starkad,  trusting 
in  his  bodily  strength,  fought  with  and  overcame  a  giant 
at  Byzantium,  reputed  invincible,  named  Tanne,  and 
drove  him  to  fly  an  outlaw  to  unknown  quarters  of  the 
earth.  Therefore,  finding  that  he  was  too  mighty  for 
any  hard  fate  to  overcome  him,  he  went  to  the  country 
of  Poland,  and  conquered  in  a  duel  a  champion  whom  our 
countrymen  name  Wasce ;  but  the  Teutons,  arranging  the 
letters  differently,  call  him  Wilzce. 

Meanwhile  the  Saxons  began  to  attempt  a  revolt,  and 
to  consider  particularly  how  they  could  destroy  Frode, 
who  was  unconquered  in  war,  by  some  other  way  than  an 
oi)en  conflict.  Thinking  that  it  would  be  best  done  by  a 
duel,  they  sent  men  to  provoke  the  king  with  a  challenge, 
knowing  that  he  was  always  ready  to  court  any  hazard, 
and  that  his  high  spirit  would  not  yield  to  any  admoni- 
tion whatever.     They  fancied  that  this  was  the  best  time 

370 


i  out- 

y  weapon 

conse- 

L  he  used 

'     g-  them 

as.     Starkaci 

to  Russia 

too  hard 

^    1  _ 

i 

.•t>r   otiiiKu'.. 
it  might  not 


DUEL  BETWEEN  HAME  AND  STARKAISer  of  h\> 

(From  the  Painting  by  Knut  Etusall.)  ]]:  t(>  Wisin 
ftX_  \V^S.iflot  an  unusuar  thing,  jamoflg,jiSc^<J\t)if^>^i^ntrft^i>!ie 
•^   tQ   settle,  dis  t    strangth  land    by   duels   with 

swor  3t    inrr  atner  'than 

s^bmiv  to  ih^'fifezaru.  oi  a  general  Dame  cnoye  ciiampiBiis  frb'rn 
tJirin  TahJqsi  vhciiNfoughtjiwtitU.  (joeimksKiciiitdjimittory  dfeilig 
a^pffjed  t]if„^^^,.from.. which  the  ^sujc^ges^fc^  G<^i?^b^|^if«<?li^i?-; 
teeredl     A,  historic  du  '  took  place  between  Hame, 

a^S^xfe^arH;  '^nk  SV  rcaoubtk^e%Jiife  m/tSr^I'l^c^ 

ktter  again  nrnvinj*  hi  .iWc  pfo^^'^'i'^  1^  :?-nv->r!  whom  oik 

hvi-  *  mrinsf  the 


to  attempt  n  revolt, 
oy  Fri 
nv  than  an 
;e  by  a 
■  I  a  challe^ 
I  any  hazard, 
any  admoni 
the  best  tim- 


i 


BOOK  SIX 

to  attack  him,  because  they  knew  that  Starkad,  whose 
valonr  most  men  dreaded,  was  away  on  business.  But 
while  Frode  hesitated,  and  said  tliat  he  would  talk  with 
his  friends  about  the  answer  to  be  given,  Starkad,  who 
had  just  returned  from  his  sea-roving,  appeared,  and 
blamed  such  a  challenge,  principally  (he  said)  because 
it  was  fitting  for  kings  to  fight  only  with  their  equals, 
and  because  they  should  not  take  up  arms  against 
men  of  the  people;  but  it  was  more  fitting  for  him- 
self, who  was  born  in  a  lowlier  station,  to  manage  the 
battle. 

The  Saxons  approached  Hame,  who  was  accounted  their 
most  famous  champion,  with  many  offers,  and  promised 
him  that,  if  he  would  lend  his  services  for  the  duel  they 
would  pay  him  his  own  weight  in  gold.  The  fighter  was 
tempted  by  the  money,  and,  with  all  the  ovation  of  a  mil- 
itary procession,  they  attended  him  to  the  ground  ap- 
pointed for  the  combat.  Thereupon  the  Danes,  decked 
in  warlike  array,  led  Starkad,  who  was  to  represent  his 
king,  out  to  the  duelling-ground.  Hame,  in  his  youthful 
assurance,  despised  him  as  withered  with  age,  and  chose 
to  grapple  rather  than  fight  with  an  outworn  old  man. 
Attacking  Starkad,  he  would  have  flung  him  tottering  to 
the  earth,  but  that  fortune,  who  would  not  suffer  the  old 
man  to  be  conquered,  prevented  him  from  being  hurt. 
For  he  is  said  to  have  been  so  crushed  by  the  fist  of 
Hame,  as  he  dashed  on  him,  that  he  touched  the  earth 
with  his  chin,  supporting  himself  on  his  knees.  But  he 
made  up  nobly  for  his  tottering;  for,  as  soon  as  he  could 
raise  his  knee  and  free  his  hand  to  draw  his  sword,  he 

371 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

clove  Hame  through  the  middle  of  the  body.  Many 
lands  and  sixty  bondmen  apiece  were  the  reward  of  the 
victory. 

After  Hame  was  killed  in  this  manner  the  sway  of  the 
Danes  over  the  Saxons  grew  so  insolent,  that  they  were 
forced  to  pay  every  year  a  small  tax  for  each  of  their 
limbs  that  was  a  cubit  (ell)  long,  in  token  of  their  slav- 
ery. This  Hanef  could  not  bear,  and  he  meditated  war 
in  his  desire  to  remove  the  tribute.  Steadfast  love  of 
his  country  filled  his  heart  every  day  with  greater  com- 
passion for  the  oppressed;  and,longing  to  spend  his  life 
for  the  freedom  of  his  countrymen,  he  openly  showed  a 
disposition  to  rebel.  Frode  took  his  forces  over  the  Elbe, 
and  killed  him  near  the  village  of  Hanofra  (Hanover), 
so  named  after  Hanef.  But  Swerting,  though  he  was 
equally  moved  by  the  distress  of  his  countrymen,  said 
nothing  about  the  ills  of  his  land,  and  revolved  a  plan  for 
freedom  with  a  spirit  yet  more  dogged  than  Hanef's. 
Men  often  doubt  whether  this  zeal  was  liker  to  vice  or  to 
virtue;  but  I  certainly  censure  it  as  criminal,  because  it 
was  produced  by  a  treacherous  desire  to  revolt.  It  may 
have  seemed  most  expedient  to  seek  the  freedom  of  the 
country,  but  it  was  not  lawful  to  strive  after  this  freedom 
by  craft  and  treachery.  Therefore,  since  the  deed  of 
Swerting  was  far  from  honourable,  neither  will  it  be 
called  expedient;  for  it  is  nobler  to  attack  openly  him 
whom  you  mean  to  attack,  and  to  exhibit  hatred  in  the 
light  of  day,  than  to  disguise  a  real  wish  to  do  harm  under 
a  spurious  show  of  friendship.  But  the  gains  of  crime 
arc  inglorious,  its  fruits  are  brief  and  fading.     For  even 

372 


BOOK  SIX 

ns  that  soul  is  slippery,  which  hides  its  insolent  treachery 
by  stealthy  arts,  so  is  it  right  that  whatsoever  is  akin  to 
guilt  should  be  frail  and  fleeting.  For  guilt  has  been 
usually  found  to  come  home  to  its  author;  and  rumour 
relates  that  such  was  the  fate  of  Swerting.  For  he  had 
resolved  to  surprise  the  king  under  the  pretence  of  a  ban- 
quet, and  burn  him  to  death ;  but  the  king  forestalled  and 
slew  him,  though  slain  by  him  in  return.  Hence  the 
crime  of  one  proved  the  destruction  of  both ;  and  thus, 
though  the  trick  succeeded  against  the  foe,  it  did  not  be- 
stow immunity  on  its  author. 

Frode  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Ingild,  whose  soul  was 
perverted  from  honour.  He  forsook  the  examples  of  his 
forefathers,  and  utterly  enthralled  himself  to  the  lures 
of  the  most  wanton  profligacy.  Thus  he  had  not  a 
shadow  of  goodness  and  righteousness,  but  embraced 
vices  instead  of  virtue;  he  cut  the  sinews  of  self-control, 
neglected  the  duties  of  his  kingly  station,  and  sank  into  a 
filthy  slave  of  riot.  Indeed,  he  fostered  everything  that 
was  adverse  or  ill-fitted  to  an  orderly  life.  He  tainted 
the  glories  of  his  father  and  grandfather  by  practising 
the  foulest  lusts,  and  bedimmed  the  brightest  honours 
of  his  ancestors  by  most  shameful  deeds.  For  he  was 
so  prone  to  gluttony,  that  he  had  no  desire  to  avenge  his 
father,  or  repel  the  aggressions  of  his  foes ;  and  so,  could 
he  but  gratify  his  gifllet,  he  thought  that  decency  and  self- 
control  need  be  observed  in  nothing.  By  idleness  and 
sloth  he  stained  his  glorious  lineage,  living  a  loose  and 
sensual  life;  and  his  soul,  so  degenerate,  so  far  perverted 
and  astray  from  the  steps  of  his   fathers,  he  loved  to 

6  373 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

plunge  into  most  abominable  gulfs  of  foulness.  Fowl- 
fatteners,  scullions,  frying-pans,  countless  cook-houses, 
different  cooks  to  roast  or  spice  the  banquet — the  choos- 
ing of  these  stood  to  him  for  glory.  As  to  arms,  soldier- 
ing, and  wars,  he  could  endure  neither  to  train  himself 
to  them,  noT  to  let  others  practise  them.  Thus  he  cast 
away  all  the  ambitions  of  a  man  and  aspired  to  those  of 
women;  for  his  incontinent  itching  of  palate  stirred  in 
him  love  of  every  kitchen-stench.  Ever  breathing  of  his 
debauch,  and  stripped  of  every  rag  of  soberness,  with  his 
foul  breath  he  belched  the  undigested  filth  in  his  belly. 
He  was  as  infamous  in  wantonness  as  Frode  was  illus- 
trious in  war.  So  utterly  had  his  spirit  been  enfeebled 
by  the  untimely  seductions  of  gluttony.  Starkad  was  so 
disgusted  at  the  excess  of  Ingild,  that  he  forsook  his 
friendship,  and  sought  the  fellowship  of  Halfdan,  the 
King  of  Swedes,  preferring  work  to  idleness.  Thus  he 
could  not  bear  so  much  as  to  countenance  excessive  in- 
dulgence. Now  the  sons  of  Swerting,  fearing  that  they 
would  have  to  pay  to  Ingild  the  penalty  of  their  father's 
crime,  were  fain  to  forestall  his  vengeance  by  a  gift,  and 
gave  him  their  sister  in  marriage.  Antiquity'  relates  that 
she  bore  him  sons,  Frode,  Fridleif,  Ingild,  and  Olaf 
(whom  some  say  was  the  son  of  Ingild's  sister). 

Ingild's  sister  Helga  had  been  led  by  amorous  wooing 
to  return  the  flame  of  a  certain  low-born  goldsmith,  who 
was  apt  for  soft  words,  and  furnished  with  divers  of  the 
little  gifts  which  best  charm  a  woman's  wishes.  For 
since  the  death  of  the  king  there  had  been  none  to  honour 
the  virtues  of  the  father  by  attention  to  the  child  ;  she  had 

374 


BOOK  SIX 

lacked  protection,  and  liad  no  guardians.  When  Starkad 
had  leamt  tliis  from  the  repeated  tales  of  travellers,  he 
could  not  bear  to  let  the  wantonness  of  the  smith  pass 
unpunished.  For  he  was  always  heedful  to  bear  kind- 
ness in  mind,  and  as  ready  to  punish  arrog-ance.  So  he 
hastened  to  chastise  such  bold  and  enormous  insolence, 
wishing"  to  repay  the  orphan  ward  the  benefits  he  had  of 
old  received  from  Frode.  Then  he  travelled  through 
Sweden,  went  into  the  house  of  the  smith,  and  posted 
himself  near  the  threshold  mufiling  his  face  in  a  cap  to 
avoid  discovery.  The  smith,  who  had  not  learnt  the  les- 
son that  "strong  hands  are  sometimes  found  under  a  mean 
garment,"  reviled  him.  and  bade  him  quickly  leave  the 
house,  saying  that  he  should  have  the  last  broken  victuals 
among  the  crowd  of  paupers.  But  the  old  man,  whose 
ingrained  self-control  lent  him  patience,  was  nevertheless 
fain  to  rest  there,  and  gradually  study  the  wantonness  of 
his  host.  For  his  reason  was  stronger  than  his  impetu- 
osity,  and  airbed  his  increasing  rage.  Then  the  smith 
approached  the  girl  with  open  shamelessness,  and  cast 
himself  in  her  lap,  olifering  the  hair  of  his  head  to  be 
combed  out  by  her  maidenl}^  hands. 

Also  he  thrust  fonvard  his  loin  cloth,  and  re- 
quired her  help  in  picking  out  the  fleas ;  and  exacted 
from  this  woman  of  lordly  lineage  that  she  should 
not  blush  to  put  her  sweet  fingers  in  a  foul  apron. 
Then,  believing  that  he  was  free  to  have  his  pleasure, 
he  ventured  to  put  his  longing  palms  within  her 
gown  and  to  set  his  unsteady  hands  close  to  her  breast. 
But  she,  looking  narrowly,  was  aware  of  the  presence  of 

375 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

the  old  man  whom  she  once  had  known,  and  felt  ashamed. 
She  spurned  the  wanton  and  libidinous  fingering,  and  re- 
pulsed the  unchaste  hands,  telling  the  man  also  that  he 
had  need  of  arms,  and  urging  him  to  cease  his  lewd 
sport, 

Starkad,  who  had  sat  down  by  the  door,  with  the 
hat  muffling  his  head,  had  already  become  so  deeply  en- 
raged at  this  sight,  that  he  could  not  find  patience  to  hold 
his  hand  any  longer,  but  put  away  his  covering  and 
clapped  his  right  hand  to  his  sword  to  draw  it  Then  the 
smith,  whose  only  skill  was  in  lewdness,  faltered  with 
sudden  alarm,  and  finding  that  it  had  come  to  fighting, 
gave  up  all  hope  of  defending  himself,  and  saw  in  flight 
the  only  remedy  for  his  need.  Thus  it  was  as  hard  to 
break  out  of  the  door,  of  which  the  enemy  held  the  ap- 
proach, as  it  was  grievous  to  await  the  smiter  within  the 
house.  At  last  necessity  forced  him  to  put  an  end  to  his 
delay,  and  he  judged  that  a  hazard  wherein  there  lay 
but  the  smallest  chance  of  safety  was  more  desirable  than 
sure  and  manifest  danger.  Also,  hard  as  it  was  to  fly, 
the  danger  being  so  close,  yet  he  desired  flight  because  it 
seemed  to  bring  him  aid,  and  to  be  the  nearer  way  to 
safety;  and  he  cast  aside  delay,  which  seemed  to  be  an 
evil  bringing  not  the  smallest  help,  but  perhaps  irretriev- 
able ruin.  But  just  as  he  gained  the  threshold,  the  old 
man  watching  at  the  door  smote  him  through  the  hams, 
and  there,  half  dead,  he  tottered  and  fell.  For  the  smiter 
thought  he  ought  carefully  to  avoid  lending  his  illustri- 
ous hands  to  the  death  of  a  vile  cinder-blower,  and  con- 
sidered that  ignominy  would  punish  his  shameless  pas- 

376 


BOOK  SIX 

sion  worse  than  death.  Thus  some  men  think  that  he 
who  suffers  misfortune  is  worse  punished  than  he  who 
is  slain  outright.  Thus  it  was  brought  about,  that  the 
maiden,  who  had  never  had  parents  to  tend  her,  came  to 
behave  hke  a  woman  of  well-trained  nature,  and  did  the 
part,  as  it  were,  of  a  zealous  guardian  to  herself.  And 
when  Starkad,  looking  round,  saw  that  the  household 
sorrowed  over  the  late  loss  of  their  master,  he  heaped 
shame  on  the  wounded  man  with  more  invective,  and 
thus  began  to  mock  : 

"Why  is  the  house  silent  and  aghast?  What  makes 
this  new  grief  ?  Or  where  now  rest  that  doting  husband 
whom  the  steel  has  just  punished  for  his  shameful  love? 
Keeps  he  still  aught  of  his  pride  and  lazy  w^antonness? 
Holds  he  to  his  quest,  glows  his  lust  as  hot  as  before? 
Let  him  while  away  an  hour  with  me  in  converse,  and 
allay  with  friendly  words  my  hatred  of  yesterday.  Let 
your  visage  come  forth  with  better  cheer;  let  not  lamenta- 
tion resound  in  the  house,  or  suffer  the  faces  to  become 
dulled  with  sorrow. 

"Wishing  to  know  who  burned  with  love  for  the 
maiden,  and  was  deeply  enamoured  of  my  beloved 
ward,  I  put  on  a  cap,  lest  my  familiar  face  might 
betray  me.  Then  comes  in  that  wanton  smith,  with 
lewd  steps,  bending  his  thighs  this  way  and  that  with 
studied  gesture,  and  likewise  making  eyes  as  he  ducked 
all  ways.  His  covering  was  a  mantle  fringed  with  bea- 
ver, his  sandals  w^ere  inlaid  with  gems,  his  cloak  was 
decked  with  gold.  Gorgeous  ribbons  bound  his  plaited 
hair,  and  a  many-coloured  band  drew  tight  his  straying 

:v7 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

locks.  Hence  grew  a  sluggish  and  puffed-up  temper;  he 
fancied  that  wealth  was  birth,  and  money  forefathers,  and 
reckoned  his  fortune  more  by  riches  than  by  blood. 
Hence  came  pride  unto  him,  and  arrogance  led  to  fine 
attire.  For  the  wretch  began  to  think  that  his  dress 
made  him  equal  to  the  high-born;  he,  the  cinder-blower, 
who  hunts  the  winds  with  hides,  and  puffs  with  constant 
draught,  who  rakes  the  ashes  with  his  fingers,  and  often 
by  drawing  back  the  bellows  takes  in  the  air,  and  with  a 
little  fan  makes  a  breath  and  kindles  the  smouldering 
fires!  Then  he  goes  to  the  lap  of  the  girl,  and  leaning 
close,  says,  'Maiden,  comb  my  hair  and  catch  the  skip- 
ping fleas,  and  remove  what  stings  my  skin.'  Then  he 
sat  and  spread  his  arms  that  sweated  under  the  gold,  loll- 
ing on  the  smooth  cushion  and  leaning  back  on  his  elbow, 
wishing  to  flaunt  his  adornment,  just  as  a  barking  brute 
unfolds  the  gathered  coils  of  its  twisted  tail.  But  she 
knew  me,  and  began  to  check  her  lover  and  rebuff  his 
wanton  hands;  and,  declaring  that  it  was  I,  she  said, 
'Refrain  thy  fingers,  check  thy  promptings,  take  heed  to 
appease  the  old  man  sitting  close  by  the  doors.  The 
sport  will  turn  to  sorrow.  I  think  Starkad  is  here,  and 
his  slow  gaze  scans  thy  doings.'  The  smith  answered : 
'Turn  not  pale  at  the  peaceful  raven  and  the  ragged  old 
man;  never  has  that  mighty  one  whom  thou  fearest 
stooped  to  such  common  and  base  attire.  The  strong 
man  loves  shining-  raiment,  and  looks  for  clothes  to  match 
his  courage.'  Then  I  uncovered  and  drew  my  sword, 
and  as  the  smith  fled  I  clove  his  privy  parts;  his  hams 
were  laid  open,  cut  away  from  the  bone;  they  showed  his 

3/8 


BOOK  SIX 

entrails.  Presently  I  rise  and  crush  the  girl's  mouth 
with  my  fist,  and  draw  blood  from  her  bruised  nostril. 
Then  her  lips,  used  to  evil  laughter,  were  wet  with  tears 
mingled  with  blood,  and  foolish  love  paid  for  all  the  sins 
it  committed  w^ith  soft  eyes.  Over  is  the  sport  of  the  hap- 
less woman  who  rushed  on,  blind  with  desire,  like  a  mad- 
dened mare,  and  makes  her  lust  the  grave  of  her  beauty. 
Thou  deservest  to  be  sold  for  a  price  to  foreign  peoples 
and  to  grind  at  the  mill,  unless  blood  pressed  from  thy 
breasts  prove  thee  falsely  accused,  and  thy  nipple's  lack 
of  milk  clear  thee  of  the  crime.  Howbeit,  I  think  thee 
free  from  this  fault;  yet  bear  not  tokens  of  suspicion,  nor 
lay  thyself  open  to  lying  tongues,  nor  give  thyself  to  the 
chattering  populace  to  gird  at.  Rumour  hurts  many,  and 
a  lying  slander  often  harms.  A  little  word  deceives  the 
thoughts  of  common  m(^i.  Respect  thy  grandsires,  hon- 
our thy  fathers,  forget  not  thy  parents,  value  thy  fore- 
fathers; let  thy  flesh  and  blood  keep  its  fame.  What 
madness  came  on  thee?  And  thou,  shameless  smith, 
what  fate  drove  thee  in  thy  lust  to  attempt  a  high-born 
race?  Or  who  sped  thee,  maiden,  worthy  of  the  lord- 
liest pillows,  to  loves  obscure?  Tell  me,  how  durst  thou 
taste  with  thy  rosy  lips  a  mouth  reeking  of  ashes,  or  en- 
dure on  thy  breast  hands  filthy  with  charcoal,  or  bring 
close  to  thy  side  the  arms  that  turn  the  live  coals  over, 
and  put  the  palms  hardened  with  the  use  of  the  tongs  to 
thy  pure  cheeks,  and  embrace  the  head  sprinkled  with 
embers,  taking  it  to  thy  bright  arms? 

"I    remember   how   smiths   differ    from   one   another, 
for   once   they   smote   me.      All    share   alike    the   name 

37'J 


SAXO  GkAMMATICUS 

of  their  calling,  but  the  hearts  beneath  are  different 
in  temper.  I  judge  those  best  who  weld  warriors' 
swords  and  spears  for  the  battle,  whose  temper 
shows  their  courage,  who  betoken  their  hearts  by 
the  sternness  of  their  calling,  whose  work  declares  their 
prowess.  There  are  also  some  to  whom  the  hollow  mould 
yields  bronze,  as  they  make  the  likeness  of  divers  things 
in  molten  gold,  who  smelt  the  veins  and  recast  the  metal. 
But  Nature  has  fashioned  these  of  a  softer  temper,  and 
has  crushed  w4th  cowardice  the  hands  which  she  has 
gifted  with  rare  skill.  Often  such  men,  while  the  heat  of 
the  blast  melts  the  bronze  that  is  poured  in  the  mould, 
craftily  filch  flakes  of  gold  from  the  lumps,  when  the  ves- 
sel thirsts  after  the  metal  they  have  stolen." 

So  speaking,  Starkad  got  as  much  pleasure  from  his 
words  as  from  his  works,  and  went  back  to  Halfdan,  em- 
bracing his  service  with  the  closest  friendship,  and  never 
ceasing  from  the  exercise  of  war;  so  that  he  weaned  his 
mind  from  delights,  and  vexed  it  with  incessant  applica- 
tion to  arms. 

Now  Ingild  had  two  sisters,  Helga  and  Asa;  Helga 
was  of  full  age  to  marry,  while  Asa  was  younger  and 
unripe  for  wedlock.  Then  Helge  the  Norwegian  was 
moved  with  desire  to  ask  for  Helga  for  his  wife,  and  em- 
barked. Now  he  had  equipped  his  vessel  so  luxuriously 
that  he  had  lordly  sails  decked  with  gold,  held  up  also  on 
gilded  masts,  and  tied  with  crimson  ropes.  When  he 
arrived  Ingild  promised  to  grant  him  his  wish  if,  to  test 
his  reputation  publicly,  he  would  first  venture  to  meet 
in  battle  the  cham.pions  pitted  against  him.     Plelge  did 

.-.8o 


BOOK  SIX 

not  flinch  at  the  terms;  he  answered  that  he  would  most 
gladly  abide  by  the  compact.  And  so  the  troth-plight  of 
the  future  marriage  was  most  ceremoniously  solemnized. 
A  story  is  remembered  that  there  had  grown  up  at  the 
same  time,  on  the  Isle  of  Zealand,  the  nine  sons  of  a  cer- 
tain prince,  all  highly  gifted  with  strength  and  valour, 
the  eldest  of  whom  was  Anganty.  This  last  was  a  rival 
suitor  for  the  same  maiden ;  and  when  he  saw  that  the 
match  w^hich  he  had  been  denied  was  promised  to  Helge, 
he  challenged  him  to  a  struggle,  wishing  to  fight  away 
his  vexation.  Helge  agreed  to  the  proposed  combat. 
The  hour  of  the  fight  was  appointed  for  the  wedding-day 
by  the  common  wish  of  both.  For  any  man  who,  being 
challenged,  refused  to  fight,  used  to  be  covered  with  dis- 
grace in  the  sight  of  all  men.  Thus  Helge  was  tortured 
on  the  one  side  by  the  shame  of  refusing  the  battle,  on 
the  other  by  the  dread  of  waging  it.  For  he  thought 
himself  attacked  unfairly  and  counter  to  the  universal 
laws  of  combat,  as  he  had  apparently  undertaken  to  fight 
nine  men  single-handed.  While  he  was  thus  reflecting 
his  betrothed  told  him  that  he  would  need  help,  and 
counselled  him  to  refrain  from  the  battle,  wherein  it 
seemed  he  would  encounter  only  death  and  disgrace,  espe- 
cially as  he  had  not  stipulated  for  any  definite  limit  to  the 
number  of  those  who  were  to  be  his  opponents.  He 
should  therefore  avoid  the  peril,  and  consult  his  safety 
by  appealing  to  Starkad,  who  was  sojourning  among  the 
vSwedes;  since  it  was  his  way  to  help  the  distressed,  and 
often  to  interpose  successfully  to  retrieve  some  dismal 
mischance. 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

Then  Helge,  who  Hked  the  counsel  thus  given  very  well, 
took  a  small  escort  and  went  into  Sweden;  and  when  he 
reached  its  most  famous  city,  Upsala,  he  forbore  to  enter, 
but  sent  in  a  messenger  who  was  to  invite  Starkad  to 
the  wedding  of  Frode's  daughter,  after  first  greeting  him 
respectfully  to  try  him.  This  courtesy  stung  Starkad 
like  an  insult.  He  looked  sternly  on  the  youth,  and  said, 
"That  had  he  not  had  his  beloved  Frode  named  in  his  in- 
structions, he  should  have  paid  dearly  for  his  senseless 
mission.  He  must  think  that  Starkad,  like  some  buffoon 
or  trencherman,  was  accustomed  to  rush  off  to  the  reek 
of  a  distant  kitchen  for  the  sake  of  a  richer  diet."  Helge, 
when  his  servant  had  told  him  this,  greeted  the  old  man 
in  the  name  of  Frode's  daughter,  and  asked  him  to  share 
a  battle  which  he  had  accepted  upon  being  challenged, 
saying  that  he  was  not  equal  to  it  by  himself,  the  terms 
of  the  agreement  being  such  as  to  leave  the  number  of  his 
adversaries  uncertain.  Starkad,  when  he  had  heard  the 
time  and  place  of  the  combat,  not  only  received  the  sup- 
pliant well,  but  also  encouraged  him  with  the  offer  of 
aid,  and  told  him  to  go  back  to  Denmark  with  his  com- 
panions, telling  him  that  he  would  find  his  way  to  him 
by  a  short  and  secret  path.  Helge  departed,  and  if  we 
may  trust  report,  Starkad,  by  sheer  speed  of  foot,  trav- 
elled in  one  day's  journeying  over  as  great  a  space  as 
those  who  went  before  him  are  said  to  have  accomplished 
in  twelve;  so  that  lx)th  parties,  by  a  chance  meeting, 
reached  their  journey's  end,  the  palace  of  Ingild,  at  the 
very  same  time.  Here  Starkad  passed,  just  as  the  ser- 
vants did,  along  the  tables  filled  with  guests;  and  the 

382 


BOOK  SIX 

aforementioned  nine,  howling  horribly  with  repulsive  ges- 
tures, and  running  about  as  if  they  were  on  the  stage, 
encouraged  one  another  to  the  battle.     Some  say  that  they 
barked   like    furious   dogs   at   the  champion   as  he   ap- 
proached.    Starkad  rebuked  them  for  making  themselves 
look  ridiculous  with  such  an  unnatural  visage,  and  for 
clowning  with  wide  grinning  cheeks;  for  from  this,  he 
declared,   soft   and  effeminate  profligates   derived   their 
wanton  incontinence.     When  Starkad  was  asked  banter- 
ingly    by    the    nine    whether    he    had    valour    enough 
to    fight,    he    answered  that    doubtless    he    was    strong 
enough    to    meet,    not    merely    one,    but    any    number 
that   might   come    against   him.      And   when   the   nine 
heard    this    they    understood    that    this    was    the    man 
whom  they  had  heard  would  come  to  the  succour  of  Helge 
from  afar.     Starkad  also,  to  protect  the  bride-chamber 
with  a  more  diligent  guard,  voluntarily  took  charge  of  the 
watch  ;  and,  drawing  back  the  doors  of  the  bedroom,  barred 
them  with  a  sword  instead  of  a  bolt,  meaning  to  post 
himself  so  as  to  give  undisturbed  quiet  to  their  bridal. 
When  Helge  woke,  and,  shaking  off  the  torpor  of  sleep, 
remembered  his  pledge,  he  thought  of  buckling  on  his 
armour.     But,  seeing  that  a  little  of  the  darkness  of  night 
yet  remained,  and  wishing  to  wait  for  the  hour  of  dawn, 
he  began  to  ponder  the  perilous  business  at  hand,  when 
sleep  stole  on  him  and  sweetly  seized  him,   so  that  he 
took  himself  back  to  bed  laden  with  slumber.     Starkad, 
coming  in  on  him  at  daybreak,  saw  him  locked  asleep  ni 
the  arms  of  his  wife,  and  would  not  suffer  him  to  be 
vexed  with  a  sudden  shock,  or  summoned  from  his  quiet 

3^5 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

slumbers;  lest  he  should  seem  to  usurp  the  duty  of  wak- 
ening him  and  breaking  upon  the  sweetness  of  so  new  a 
union,  all  because  of  cowardice.  He  thought  it,  there- 
fore, more  handsome  to  meet  the  peril  alone  than  to  gain 
a  comrade  by  disturbing  the  pleasure  of  another.  So  he 
quietly  retraced  his  steps,  and  scorning  his  enemies,  en- 
tered the  field  which  in  our  tongue  is  called  Roliung,  and 
finding  a  seat  under  the  slope  of  a  certain  hill,  he  exposed 
himself  to  wind  and  snow.  Then,  as  though  the  gentle 
airs  of  spring  weather  were  breathing  upon  him,  he  put 
off  his  cloak,  and  set  to  picking  out  the  fleas.  He  also 
cast  on  the  briars  a  purple  mantle  which  Helga  had  lately 
given  him,  that  no  clothing  might  seem  to  lend  him  shelter 
against  the  raging  sliafts  of  hail.  Then  the  champions 
came  and  climbed  the  hill  on  the  opposite  side ;  and,  seek- 
ing a  spot  sheltered  from  the  winds  wherein  to  sit,  they 
lit  a  fire  and  drove  off  the  cold.  At  last,  not  seeing 
Starkad,  they  sent  a  men  to  the  crest  of  the  hill,  to  watch 
his  coming  more  clearly,  as  from  a  watch-tower.  This 
man  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  lofty  mountain,  and  saw, 
on  its  sloping  side,  an  old  man  covered  shoulder-high  with 
the  snow  that  showered  down.  He  asked  him  if  he  was  the 
man  who  was  to  fight  according  to  the  promise.  Starkad 
declared  that  he  was.  Then  the  rest  came  up  and  asked 
him  whether  he  had  resolved  to  meet  them  all  at  once  or 
one  by  one.  But  he  said,  "Whenever  a  surly  pack  of  curs 
yelps  at  me,  I  commonly  send  them  flying  all  at  once,  and 
not  in  turn."  Thus  he  let  them  know  that  he  would 
rather  fight  with  them  all  together  than  one  by  one,  think- 
ing that  his  enemies  should  be  spurned  with  words  first 
and  deeds  afterwards.  ,o  . 


BOOK  SIX 

The  fight  began  furiously  almost  immediately,  and  he 
felled  six  of  them  without  receiving  any  wound  in  return ; 
and  though  the  remaining  three  wounded  him  so  hard  in 
seventeen  places  that  most  of  his  bowels  gushed  out  of  his 
belly,  he  slew  them  notwithstanding,  like  their  Ijrethren. 
Disembowelled,  with  failing  strength,  he  suffered  from 
dreadful  straits  of  thirst,  and,  crawling  on  his  knees  in 
his  desire  to  find  a  draught,  he  longed  for  water  from  the 
streamlet  that  ran  close  by.  But  when  he  saw  it  was 
tainted  with  gore  he  was  disgusted  at  the  look  of  the 
water,  and  refrained  from  its  infected  draught.  For 
Anganty  had  been  struck  down  in  the  waves  of  the  river, 
and  had  dyed  its  course  so  deep  with  his  red  blood  that  it 
seemed  now  to  flow  not  with  water,  but  with  some  ruddy 
liquid.  So  Starkad  thought  it  nobler  that  his  bodily 
strength  should  fail  than  that  he  should  borrow  strength 
from  so  foul  a  beverage.  Therefore,  his  force  being  all 
but  spent,  he  wriggled  on  his  knees,  up  to  a  rock  that 
happened  to  be  lying  near,  and  for  some  little  while  lay 
leaning  against  it.  A  hollow  in  its  surface  is  still  to  l>e 
seen,  just  as  if  his  weight  as  he  lay  had  marked  it  with  a 
distinct  impression  of  his  body.  But  I  think  this  ap- 
pearance is  due  to  human  handiwork,  for  it  seems  to  pass 
all  belief  that  the  hard  and  uncleavable  rock  should  so 
imitate  the  softness  of  wax,  as,  merely  by  the  contact 
of  a  man  leaning  on  it,  to  present  the  appearance  of  a  man 
having  sat  there,  and  assume  concavity  for  ever. 

A  certain  man,  who  chanced  to  be  passing  by  in  a  cart, 
saw  Starkad  woimded  almost  all  over  his  body.  Equally 
aghast  and  amazed,  he  turned  and  drove  closer,  asking 

385 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

what  reward  he  should  have  if  he  were  to  tend  and  heal 
his  wounds.  But  Starkad  would  rather  be  tortured  by 
grievous  wounds  than  use  the  service  of  a  man  of  base 
estate,  and  first  asked  his  birth  and  calling'.  The  man 
said  that  his  profession  was  that  of  a  sergeant.  Starkad, 
not  content  with  despising  him,  also  spurned  him  with 
revilings,  because,  neglecting  all  honourable  business,  he 
followed  the  calling  of  a  hanger-on ;  and  because  he  had 
tarnished  his  whole  career  with  ill  repute,  thinking  the 
losses  of  the  poor  his  own  gains:  suffering  none  to  be 
innocent,  ready  to  inflict  wrongful  accusation  upon  all  men, 
most  delighted  at  any  lamentable  turn  in  the  fortunes  of 
another;  and  toiling  most  at  his  own  design,  namely  of 
treacherously  spying  out  all  men's  doings,  and  seeking 
some  traitorous  occasion  to  censure  the  character  of  the 
innocent. 

As  tills  first  man  departed,  another  came  up,  prom- 
ising aid  and  remedies.  Like  the  last  comer,  he  was  bid- 
den to  declare  his  condition ;  and  he  said  that  he  had  a 
certain  man's  handmaid  to  wife,  and  was  doing  peasant 
service  to  her  master  in  order  to  set  her  free.  Starkad 
refused  to  accept  his  help,  because  he  had  married  in  a 
shameful  way  by  taking  a  slave  to  his  embrace.  Had 
he  had  a  shred  of  virtue  he  should  at  least  have  disdained 
to  be  intimate  with  the  slave  of  another,  but  should  have 
enjoyed  some  freeborn  partner  of  his  bed.  What  a 
mighty  man,  then,  must  we  deem  Starkad,  who,  when 
enveloped  in  the  most  deadly  perils,  showed  himself  as 
great  in  refusing  aid  as  in  receiving  wounds ! 

When  this  man  departed  a  woman  chanced  to  approach 

386 


BOOK  SIX 

and  walk  past  the  old  man.  She  came  up  to  him  in  order 
to  wipe  his  wounds,  but  was  first  bidden  to  declare  whaf 
was  her  birth  and  calling.  She  said  that  she  was  a  hand- 
maid used  to  grinding  at  the  mill.  Starkad  then  asked 
her  if  she  had  children;  and  when  he  was  told  that  she 
had  a  female  child,  he  told  her  to  go  home  and  give  the 
breast  to  her  squalling  daughter;  for  he  thought  it  most 
uncomely  that  he  should  borrow  help  from  a  woman  of 
the  lowest  degree.  Moreover,  he  knew  that  she  coukl 
nourish  her  own  flesh  and  blood  with  milk  better  than  she 
could  minister  to  the  wounds  of  a  stranger. 

As  the  woman  was  departing,  a  young  man  came  riding 
up  in  a  cart.  He  saw  the  old  man,  and  drew  near  to  minis- 
ter to  his  wounds.  On  being  asked  who  he  was,  he  said 
his  father  was  a  lalx^urer,  and  added  that  he  was  used  to 
the  labours  of  a  peasant.  Starkad  praised  his  origin,  and 
pronounced  that  his  calling  was  also  most  worthy  of 
honour;  for,  he  said,  such  men  sought  a  livelihood  by 
honourable  traffic  in  their  labour,  inasmuch  as  they  knew 
not  of  any  gain,  save  what  they  had  earned  by  the  sweat 
of  their  brow.  He  also  thought  that  a  country  life  was 
justly  to  be  preferred  even  to  the  most  splendid  riches ; 
for  the  most  wholesome  fmits  of  it  seemed  to  be  born 
and  reared  in  the  shelter  of  a  middle  estate,  halfway  be- 
tween magnificence  and  squalor.  But  he  did  not  wish  to 
pass  the  kindness  of  the  youth  unrequited,  and  rewarded 
the  esteem  he  had  shown  him  with  the  mantle  he  had  cast 
among  the  thorns.  So  the  peasant's  son  approached,  re- 
placed the  parts  of  his  belly  that  had  been  torn  away,  and 
bound  up  with  a  plait  of  withies  the  mass  of  intestines 

387 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

that  had  fallen  out.  Then  he  took  the  old  man  to  his 
car,  and  with  the  most  zealous  respect  carried  him  away 
to  the  palace. 

Meantime  Helga,  in  language  betokening  the  greatest 
wariness,  began  to  instruct  her  husband,  saying  that  she 
knew  that  Starkad,  as  soon  as  he  came  back  from  con- 
quering the  champions,  would  punish  him  for  his  absence, 
thinking  that  he  had  inclined  more  to  sloth  and  lust  than 
to  his  promise  to  fight  as  appointed.  Therefore  he  must 
withstand  Starkad  boldly,  because  he  always  spared  the 
brave  but  loathed  the  coward.  Helge  respected  equally 
her  prophecy  and  her  counsel,  and  braced  his  soul  and 
body  with  a  glow  of  valorous  enterprise.  Starkad,  when 
he  had  been  driven  to  the  palace,  heedless  of  the  pain  of 
his  wounds,  leaped  swiftly  out  of  the  cart,  and  just  like 
a  man  who  was  well  from  top  to  toe,  burst  into  the  bridal- 
chamber,  shattering  the  doors  with  his  fist.  Then  Helge 
leapt  from  his  bed,  and,  as  he  had  been  taught  by  the  coun- 
sel of  his  wife,  plunged  his  blade  full  at  Starkad's  fore- 
head. And  since  he  seemed  to  be  meditating  a  second 
blow,  and  to  be  about  to  make  another  thrust  with  his 
sword,  Helga  flew  quickly  from  the  couch,  caught  up  a 
shield,  and,  by  interposing  it,  saved  the  old  man  from 
impending  destruction ;  for,  notwithstanding,  Helge  with 
a  stronger  stroke  of  his  blade  smote  the  shield  right 
through  to  the  boss.  Thus  the  praiseworthy  wit  of  the 
woman  aided  her  friend,  and  her  hand  saved  him  whom 
her  counsel  had  injured;  for  she  protected  the  old  man 
by  her  deed,  as  well  as  her  husband  by  her  warning. 
Starkad  was  induced  by  this  to  let  Helge  go  scot-free; 

388 


BOOK  SIX 

saying  that  a  man  whose  ready  and  assured  courage  so 
surely  betokened  manHness,  ought  to  be  spared;  for  he 
vowed  that  a  man  ill  deserved  death  w-hose  bra.ve  spirit 
was  graced  with  such  a  dogged  will  to  resist. 

Starkad  went  back  to  Sweden  before  his  wounds  had 
been  treated  with  medicine,  or  covered  with  a  single  scar. 
Halfdan  had  been  killed  by  his  rivals;  and  Starkad,  after 
quelling  certain  rebels,  set  up  Siward  as  the  heir  to  his 
father's  sovereignty.  With  him  he  sojourned  a  long 
time;  but  when  he  heard — for  the  rumour  spread — that 
Ingild,  the  son  of  Frode  (who  had  been  treacherously 
slain),  was  perversely  minded,  and  instead  of  punishing 
his  father's  murderers,  bestowed  upon  them  kindness  and 
friendship,  he  was  vexed  with  stinging  wrath  at  so  dread- 
ful a  crime.  And,  resenting  that  a  youth  of  such  great 
parts  should  have  renounced  his  descent  from  his  glorious 
father,  he  hung  on  his  shoulders  a  mighty  mass  of  char- 
coal, as  though  it  were  some  costly  burden,  and  made  his 
way  to  Denmark.  When  asked  by  those  he  met  why  he 
was  taking  along  so  unusual  a  load,  he  said  that  he  would 
sharpen  the  dull  wits  of  King  Ingild  to  a  point  by  bits 
of  charcoal.  So  he  accomplished  a  swift  and  headlong 
journey,  as  though  at  a  single  breath,  by  a  short  and 
speedy  track;  and  at  last,  becoming  the  guest  of  Ingild, 
he  went  up,  as  his  custom  was,  in  to  the  seat  appointed 
for  the  great  men ;  for  he  had  been  used  to  occupy  the 
highest  post  of  distinction  with  the  kings  of  the  last  gen- 
eration. 

When  the  queen  came  in,  and  saw  him  covered  over 
with  filth  and  clad  in  the  mean,  patched  clothes  of  a  peas- 

7  389 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

ant,  the  ugliness  of  her  guest's  dress  made  her  judge  him 
with  Httle  heed;  and,  measuring  the  man  by  the  clothes, 
she  reproached  him  with  crassness  of  wit,  because  he  had 
gone  before  greater  men  in  taking  his  place  at  table,  and 
had  assumed  a  seat  that  was  too  good  for  his  boorish 
attire.  She  bade  him  quit  the  place,  that  he  might  not 
touch  the  cushions  with  his  dress,  which  was  fouler  than 
it  should  have  been.  For  she  put  down  to  crassness  and 
brazenness  what  Starkad  only  did  from  proper  pride ;  she 
knew  not  that  on  a  high  seat  of  honour  the  mind  some- 
times shines  brighter  than  the  raiment.  The  spirited 
old  man  obeyed,  though  vexed  at  the  rebuff,  and  with 
marvellous  self-control  choked  down  the  insult  which  his 
bravery  so  ill  deserved;  uttering  at  this  disgrace  he 
had  received  neither  word  nor  groan.  But  he  could  not 
long  bear  to  hide  the  bitterness  of  his  anger  in  silence. 
Rising,  and  retreating  tO'  the  furthest  end  of  the  palace, 
he  flung  his  body  against  the  walls;  and  strong  as  they 
were,  he  so  battered  them  with  the  shock,  that  the  beams 
quaked  mightily;  and  he  nearly  brought  the  house  down 
in  a  crash.  Thus,  stung  not  only  with  his  rebuff,  but 
with  the  shame  of  having  poverty  cast  in  his  teeth,  he 
unsheathed  his  wrath  against  the  insulting  speech  of  the 
queen  with  inexorable  sternness. 

Ingild,  on  his  return  from  hunting,  scanned  him  closely, 
and,  when  he  noticed  that  he  neither  looked  cheerfully 
about,  nor  paid  him  the  respect  of  rising,  saw  by  the  stern- 
ness written  on  his  brow  that  it  was  Starkad.  For  when 
he  noted  his  hands  horny  with  fighting,  his  scars  in  front, 
the  force  and  fire  of  his  eye,  he  perceived  that  a  man  whose 

390 


BOOK  SIX 

body  was  seamed  with  so  many  traces  of  wounds  had  no 
weakHng  soul.  He  therefore  rebuked  his  wife,  and 
charged  her  roimdly  to  put  away  her  haughty  tempers, 
and  to  soothe  and  soften  with  kind  words  and  gentle 
offices  the  man  she  had  reviled ;  to  comfort  him  with  food 
and  drink,  and  refresh  him  with  kindly  converse;  saying, 
that  this  man  had  been  appointed  his  tutor  by  his  father 
long  ago,  and  had  been  a  most  tender  guardian  of  his 
childhood.  Then,  learning  too  late  the  temper  of  the  old 
man,  she  turned  her  harshness  into  gentleness,  and  re- 
spectfully waited  on  him  whom  she  had  rebuffed  and 
railed  at  with  bitter  revilings.  The  angry  hostess  changed 
her  part,  and  became  the  most  fawning  of  flatterers.  She 
washed  to  check  his  anger  with  her  attentiveness ;  and  her 
fault  was  the  less,  inasmuch  as  she  was  so  quick  in  min- 
istering to  him  after  she  had  been  chidden.  But  she  paid 
dearly  for  it,  for  she  presently  beheld  stained  with  the 
blood  of  her  brethren  the  place  where  she  had  flouted 
and  rebuffed  the  brave  old  man  from  his  seat. 

Now,  in  the  evening,  Ingild  took  his  meal  with  the  sons 
of  Swerting,  and  fell  to  a  magnificent  feast,  loading  the 
tables  with  the  profusest  dishes.  With  friendly  invita- 
tion he  kept  the  old  man  back  from  leaving  the  revel  too 
early;  as  though  the  delights  of  elaborate  dainties  could 
have  undermined  that  staunch  and  sturdy  virtue!  But 
when  Starkad  had  set  eyes  on  these  things,  he  scorned 
so  wanton  a  use  of  them ;  and,  not  to  give  way  a  whit  to 
foreign  fashions,  he  steeled  his  appetite  against  these 
tempting  delicacies  with  the  self-restraint  which  was  his 
greatest  strength.     He  would  not  suffer  his  repute  as  a 

391 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

soldier  to  be  Impaired  by  the  allurements  of  an  orgy.  For 
his  valour  loved  thrift,  and  was  a  stranger  to  all  super- 
fluity of  food,  and  averse  to  feasting  in  excess.  For 
his  was  a  courage  which  never  at  any  moment  had  time  to 
make  luxury  of  aught  account,  and  always  forewent  pleas- 
ure to  pay  due  heed  to  virtue.  So,  when  he  saw  that 
the  antique  character  of  self-restraint,  and  all  good  old 
customs,  were  being  corrupted  by  new-fangled  luxury 
and  sumptuosity,  he  wished  to  be  provided  with  a  morsel 
fitter  for  a  peasant,  and  scorned  the  costly  and  lavish  feast. 

Spuming  profuse  indulgence  in  food,  Starkad  took 
some  smoky  and  rather  rancid  fare,  appeasing  his  hunger 
with  a  bitter  relish  because  more  simply ;  and  being  unwill- 
ing to  enfeeble  his  true  valour  with  the  tainted  sweetness 
of  sophisticated  foreign  dainties,  or  break  the  rule  of  an- 
tique plainness  by  such  strange  idolatries  of  the  belly. 
He  was  also  very  wroth  that  they  should  go  to  the  ex- 
travagance of  having  the  same  meat  both  roasted  and 
boiled  at  the  same  meal;  for  he  considered  an  eatable 
which  was  steeped  In  the  vapours  of  the  kitchen,  and 
which  the  skill  of  the  cook  rubbed  over  with  many  kinds 
of  flavours.  In  the  light  of  a  monstrosity. 

Unlike  Starkad  Ingild  flung  the  example  of  his  ances- 
tors to  the  winds,  and  gave  himself  freer  licence 
of  innovation  in  the  fashions  of  the  table  than  the 
custom  of  his  fathers  allowed.  For  when  he  had 
once  abandoned  himself  to  the  manners  of  Teuton- 
land,  he  did  not  blush  to  yield  to  its  unmanly 
wantonness.  No  slight  incentives  to  debauchery  have 
flowed  down  our  country's  throat  from  that  sink  of  a  land. 

392 


BOOK  SIX 

Hence  came  magnificent  dishes,  sumptuous  kitchens,  the 
base  service  of  cooks,  and  all  sorts  of  abominable  sau- 
sages. Hence  came  our  adoption,  wandering  from  the 
ways  oi  our  fathers,  of  a  more  dissolute  dress.  Thus 
our  country,  which  cherished  self-restraint  as  its  native 
quality,  has  gone  begging  to  our  neighbours  for  luxury ; 
whose  allurements  so  charmed  Ingild,  that  he  did  not 
think  it  shameful  to  requite  wrongs  with  kindness;  nor 
did  the  grievous  murder  of  his  father  make  him^  heave 
one  sigh  of  bitterness  when  it  crossed  his  mind. 

But  the  queen  would  not  depart  without  effecting  hei" 
purpose.  Thinking  that  presents  would  be  the  best  way 
to  banish  the  old  man's  anger,  she  took  off  her  own  head 
a  band  of  marvellous  handiwork,  and  put  it  in  his  lap  as 
he  supped :  desiring  to  buy  his  favour  since  she  could  not 
blunt  his  courage.  But  Starkad,  whose  bitter  resentment 
was  not  yet  abated,  flung  it  back  in  the  face  of  the  giver, 
thinking  that  in  such  a  gift  there  was  more  scorn  than 
respect.  And  he  was  wise  not  to  put  this  strange  orna- 
ment of  female  dress  upon  the  head  that  was  all  be- 
scarred  and  used  to  the  helmet ;  for  he  knew  that  the  locks 
of  a  man  ought  not  to  wear  a  woman's  head-band.  Thus 
he  avenged  slight  with  slight,  and  repaid  with  retorted 
scorn  the  disdain  he  had  received;  thereby  bearing  him- 
self well-nigh  as  nobly  in  avenging  his  disgrace  as  he  had 
borne  himself  in  enduring  it. 

To  the  soul  of  Starkad  reverence  for  Frode  w-as  grap- 
pled with  hooks  of  love.  Drawn  to  him  by  deeds  of 
bounty,  countless  kindnesses,  he  could  not  be  wheedled 
into  giving  up  his  purpose  of  revenge  by  any  sort  of 

393 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

alluring  complaisance.  Even  now,  when  Frode  was  no 
more,  he  was  eager  to  pay  the  gratitude  due  to  his 
benefits,  and  to  requite  the  kindness  of  the  dead,  whose 
loving  disposition  and  generous  friendship  he  had  experi- 
enced while  he  lived.  For  he  bore  graven  so  deeply  in 
his  heart  the  grievous  picture  of  Frode's  murder,  that  his 
honour  for  that  most  famous  captain  could  never  be 
plucked  from  the  inmost  chamber  of  his  soul ;  and  there- 
fore he  did  not  hesitate  to  rank  his  ancient  friendship 
before  the  present  kindness.  Besides,  when  he  recalled 
the  previous  affront,  he  could  not  thank  the  complaisance 
that  followed;  he  could  not  put  aside  the  disgraceful 
wound  to  his  self-respect.  For  the  memory  of  benefits 
or  injuries  ever  sticks  more  firmly  in  the  minds  of  brave 
men  than  in  those  of  weaklings.  For  he  had  not  the 
habits  of  those  who  follow  their  friends  in  prosperity  and 
quit  them  in  adversity,  who  pay  more  regard  to  fortune 
than  to  looks,  and  sit  closer  to  their  own  gain  than  to 
charity  toward  others. 

But  the  woman  held  to  her  purpose,  seeing  that  even 
so  she  could  not  win  the  old  man  to  convivial  mirth. 
Continuing  with  yet  more  lavish  courtesy  her  efforts  to 
soothe  him,  and  to  heap  more  honours  on  the  guest,  she 
bade  a  piper  strike  up,  and  started  music  to  melt  his  un- 
bending rage.  For  she  wanted  to  unnerve  his  stubborn 
nature  by  means  of  cunning  sounds.  But  the  cajolery 
of  pipe  or  string  was  just  as  powerless  to  enfeeble  that 
dogged  warrior.  When  he  heard  it,  he  felt  that  the 
respect  paid  him  savoured  more  of  pretence  than  of  love. 
Hence  the  crestfallen  performer  seemed  to  be  playing  to 

394 


BOOK  SIX 

a  statue  rather  than  a  man,  and  learnt  that  it  is  vain  for 
buffoons  to  assail  with  their  tricks  a  settled  and  weighty 
sternness,  and  that  a  mighty  mass  cannot  be  shaken  with 
the  idle  puffing  of  the  lips.  For  Starkad  had  set  his  face 
so  firmly  in  his  stubborn  wrath,  that  he  seemed  not  a 
whit  easier  to  move  than  ever.  For  the  inflexibility 
which  he  owed  his  vows  was  not  softened  either  by  the 
strain  of  the  lute  or  the  enticements  of  the  palate;  and 
he  thought  that  more  respect  should  be  paid  to  his  stren- 
uous and  manly  purpose  than  to  the  tickling  of  the  ears 
or  the  lures  of  the  feast.  Accordingly  he  flung  the  bone, 
which  he  had  stripped  in  eating  the  meat,  in  the  face 
of  the  harlequin,  and  drove  the  wind  violently  out  of  his 
puffed  cheeks,  so  that  they  collapsed.  By  this  he  showed 
how  his  austerity  loathed  the  clatter  of  the  stage;  for 
his  ears  were  stopped  with  anger  and  open  to  no  influ- 
ence of  delight.  This  reward,  befitting  an  actor,  pun- 
ished an  unseemly  performance  with  a  shameful  wage. 
For  Starkad  excellently  judged  the  man's  deserts,  and 
bestowed  a  shankbone  for  the  piper  to  pipe  on,  requiting 
his  soft  service  with  a  hard  fee.  None  could  say  whether 
the  actor  piped  or  wept  the  louder;  he  showed  by  his 
bitter  flood  of  tears  how  little  place  bravery  has  in  the 
breasts  of  the  dissolute.  For  the  fellow  was  a  mere  min- 
ion of  pleasure,  and  had  never  learnt  to  bear  the  assaults 
of  calamity.  This  man's  hurt  was  ominous  of  the  carn- 
age that  was  to  follow  at  the  feast.  Right  well  did 
Starkad's  spirit,  heedful  of  sternness,  hold  with  stubborn 
gravity  to  steadfast  revenge;  for  he  was  as  much  dis- 
gusted at  the  lute  as  others  were  delighted,  and  repaid 

395 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

the  unwelcome  service  by  insultingly  flinging  a  bone; 
thus  avowing  that  he  owed  a  greater  debt  to  the  glorious 
dust  of  his  mighty  friend  than  to  his  shameless  and  in- 
famous ward. 

But  when  Starkad  saw  that  the  slayers  of  Frode  were 
in  high  favour  with  the  king,  his  stem  glances  expressed 
the  mighty  wrath  which  he  harboured,  and  his  face  be- 
trayed what  he  felt.  The  visible  fury  of  his  gaze 
betokened  the  secret  tempest  in  his  heart.  At  last,  when 
Ingild  tried  to  appease  him  with  royal  fare,  he  spurned 
the  dainty.  Satisfied  with  cheap  and  common  food,  he 
utterly  spurned  outlandish  delicacies;  he  was  used  to 
plain  diet,  and  would  not  pamper  his  palate  with  any 
delightful  flavour.  When  he  was  asked  why  he  had 
refused  the  generous  attention  of  the  king  with  such  a 
clouded  brow,  he  said  that  he  had  come  to  Denmark  to 
find  the  son  of  Frode,  not  a  man  who  crammed  his 
proud  and  gluttonous  stomach  with  rich  elaborate  feasts. 
For  the  Teuton  extravagance  which  the  king  favoured 
had  led  him,  in  his  longing  for  the  pleasures  of  abund- 
ance, to  set  to  the  fire  again,  for  roasting,  dishes  which 
had  been  already  boiled.  Thereupon  he  could  not  forbear 
from  attacking  Ingild's  character,  but  poured  out  the 
whole  bitterness  of  his  reproaches  on  his  head.  He  con- 
demned his  unfilial  spirit,  because  he  gaped  with  repletion 
and  vented  his  squeamishness  in  filthy  hawkings ; 
because,  following  the  lures  of  the  Saxons,  he  strayed 
and  departed  far  from  soberness ;  because  he  was  so  lack- 
ing in  manhood  as  not  to  pursue  even  the  faintest  shadow 
of  it.     But,  declared  Starkad,  he  bore  the  heaviest  load 

396 


BOOK  SIX 

of  infamy,  because,  even  when  he  first  began  to  see 
service,  he  forgot  to  avenge  his  father,  to  whose  butchers, 
forsaking  the  law  of  nature,  he  was  kind  and  attentive. 
Men  whose  deserts  were  most  vile  he  welcomed  with 
loving  affection ;  and  not  only  did  he  let  those  go  scot- 
free,  whom  he  should  have  punished  most  sharply,  but 
he  even  judged  them  fit  persons  to  live  with  and  entertain 
at  his  table,  whereas  he  should  rather  have  put  them  to 
death.  Hereupon  Starkad  is  also  said  to  have  sung  as 
follows : 

"Let  the  unwarlike  youth  yield  to  the  aged,  let  him 
honour  all  the  years  of  him  that  is  old.  When  a  man 
is  brave,  let  none  reproach  the  number  of  his  days. 

"Though  the  hair  of  the  ancient  whiten  with  age,  their 
valour  stays  still  the  same;  nor  shall  the  lapse  of  time 
have  power  to  weaken  their  manly  heart. 

"I  am  elbowed  away  by  the  offensive  guest,  who  taints 
with  vice  his  outward  show  of  goodness,  whilst  he  is 
the  slave  of  his  belly  and  prefers  his  daily  dainties  to 
anything. 

"When  I  was  counted  as  a  comrade  of  Frode,  I  ever 
sat  in  the  midst  of  warriors  on  a  high  seat  in  the  hall, 
and  I  was  the  first  of  the  princes  to  take  my  meal. 

"Now,  the  lot  of  a  nobler  age  is  reversed ;  I  am  shut 
in  a  corner,  I  am  like  the  fish  that  seeks  shelter  as  it  wan- 
ders to  and  fro  hidden  in  the  waters. 

"I,  who  used  surely  in  the  former  age  to  lie  back  on 
a  couch  handsomely  spread,  am  now  thrust  among  the 
hindmost  and  driven  from  the  crowded  hall. 

"Perchance  I  had  been  driven  on  my  back  at  the  doors, 

297. 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

had  not  the  wall  struck  my  side  and  turned  me  back, 
and  had  not  the  beam  in  the  way  made  it  hard  for  me 
to  fly  when  I  was  thrust  forth. 

"I  am  baited  with  the  jeers  of  the  court-folk;  I  am 
not  received  as  a  guest  should  be;  I  am  girded  at  with 
harsh  gibing,  and  stung  with  babbling  taunts. 

"I  am'  a  stranger,  and  would  gladly  know  what  news 
are  spread  abroad  by  busy  rumour ;  what  is  the  course  of 
events ;  what  the  order  of  the  land ;  what  is  doing  in  your 
country. 

"Thou,  Ingild,  buried  in  sin,  why  dost  thou  tarry  in 
the  task  of  avenging  thy  father  ?  Wilt-  thou  think  tran- 
quilly of  the  slaughter  of  thy  righteous  sire? 

"Why  dost  thou,  sluggard,  think  only  of  feasting,  and 
lean  thy  belly  back  in  ease,  more  effeminate  than  harlots  ? 
Is  the  avenging  of  thy  slaughtered  father  a  little  thing 
to  thee? 

"When  last  I  left  thee,  Frode,  I  learned  by  my  pro- 
phetic soul  that  thou,  mightiest  of  kings,  wouldst  surely 
perish  by  the  sword  of  enemies. 

"And  while  I  travelled  long  in  the  land,  a  warning 
groan  rose  in  my  soul,  which  augured  that  thereafter  I 
was  never  to  see  thee  more. 

"Wo  is  me,  that  then  I  was  far  away,  harrying  the 
farthest  peoples  of  the  earth,  when  the  traitorous  guest 
aimed  craftily  at  the  throat  of  his  king, 

"Else  I  would  either  have  shown  myself  the  avenger 
of  my  lord,  or  have  shared  his  fate  and  fallen  where  he 
fell,  and  would  joyfully  have  followed  the  blessed  king 
in  one  and  the  same  death. 

398 


BOOK  SIX 

"I  have  not  come  to  indulge  in  gluttonous  feasting, 
the  sin  whereof  I  will  strive  to  chastise;  nor  will  I  take 
mine  ease,  nor  the  delights  of  the  fat  belly, 

"No  famous  king  has  ever  set  me  before  in  the  middle 
by  the  strangers.  I  have  been  wont  to  sit  in  the  highest 
seats  among  friends. 

"I  have  come  from  Sweden,  travelling  over  wide  lands, 
thinking  that  I  should  be  rewarded,  if  only  I  had  the  joy 
to  find  the  son  of  my  beloved  Frode. 

"But  I  sought  a  brave  man,  and  I  have  come  to  a 
glutton,  a  king  who  is  the  slave  of  his  belly  and  of  vice, 
whose  liking  has  been  turned  back  towards  wantonness 
by  filthy  pleasure. 

"Famous  is  the  speech  men  think  that  Halfdan  spoke : 
he  warned  us  it  would  soon  come  to  pass  that  an  under- 
standing father  should  beget  a  witless  son. 

"Though  the  heir  be  deemed  degenerate,  I  will  not 
suffer  the  wealth  of  mighty  Frode  to  profit  strangers  or 
to  be  made  public  like  plunder." 

At  these  words  the  queen  trembled,  and  she  took  from 
her  head  the  ribbon  with  which  she  happened,  in  woman's 
fashion,  to  be  adorning  her  hair,  and  proffered  it  to  the 
enraged  old  man,  as  though  she  could  avert  his  anger 
with  a  gift.  Starkad  in  anger  flung  it  back  most  ignomin- 
iously  in  the  face  of  the  giver,  and  began  again  in  a  loud 
voice : 

"Take  hence,  I  pray  thee,  thy  woman's  gift,  and  set 
back  thy  headgear  on  thy  head;  no  brave  man  assumes 
the  chaplets  that  befit  Love  only. 

"For  it  is  amiss  that  the  hair  of  men  that  are  ready 

399 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

for  battle  should  be  bound  back  with  wreathed  gold ;  such 
attire  is  right  for  the  throngs  of  the  soft  and  effeminate. 

"But  take  this  gift  to  thy  husband,  who  loves  luxury, 
whose  finger  itches,  while  he  turns  over  the  rump  and 
handles  the  flesh  of  the  bird  roasted  brown. 

"The  flighty  and  skittish  wife  of  Ingild  longs  to  ob- 
serve the  fashions  of  the  Teutons ;  she  prepares  the  orgy 
and  makes  ready  the  artificial  dainties. 

"For  she  tickles  the  palate  with  a  new-fangled  feast ;  she 
pursues  the  zest  of  an  unknown  flavour,  raging  to  load  all 
the  tables  with  dishes  yet  more  richly  than  before. 

"She  gives  her  lord  wine  to  drink  in  bowls,  pondering 
all  things  with  zealous  preparation;  she  bids  the  cooked 
meats  be  roasted,  and  intends  them  for  a  second  fire. 

"Wantonly  she  feeds  her  husband  like  a  hog;  a  shame- 
less whore,  trusting  .... 

"She  roasts  the  boiled,  and  recooks  the  roasted  meats, 
planning  the  meal  with  spendthrift  extravagance,  careless 
of  right  and  wrong,  practising  sin,  a  foul  woman. 

"Wanton  in  arrogance,  a  soldier  of  Love,  longing  for 
dainties,  she  abjures  the  fair  ways  of  self-control,  and 
^  also  provides  devices  for  gluttony. 

"With  craving  stomach  she  desires  turnip  strained  in 
a  smooth  pan,  cakes  with  thin  juice,  and  shellfish  in  rows. 

"I  do  not  remember  the  Great  Frode  putting  his  hand 
to  the  sinews  of  birds,  or  tearing  the  rump  of  a  cooked 
fowl  with  crooked  thumb. 

"What  former  king  could  have  been  so  gluttonous  as 
to  stir  the  stinking  filthy  flesh,  or  rummage  in  the  foul 
back  of  a  bird  with  plucking  fingers  ? 

400 


BOOK  SIX 

"The  food  of  valiant  men  is  raw ;  no  need,  methinks, 
of  sumptuous  tables  for  those  whose  stubborn  souls  are 
bent  on  warfare. 

"It  had  been  fitter  for  thee  to  have  toni  the  stiff  beard, 
biting  hard  with  thy  teeth,  than  greedily  to  have  drained 
the  bowl  of  milk  with  thy  wide  mouth. 

"We  fied  from  the  offence  of  the  sumptuous  kitchen; 
we  stayed  our  stomach  with  rancid  fare;  few  in  the  old 
days  loved  cooked  juices. 

"A  dish  with  no  sauce  of  herbs  gave  us  the  flesh  of 
rams  and  swine.  We  partook  temperately,  tainting  noth- 
ing with  bold  excess. 

"Thou  who  now  lickest  the  milk-wdiite  fat,  put  on, 
prithee,  the  spirit  of  a  man ;  remember  Frode,  and  avenge 
thy  father's  death. 

"The  worthless  and  cowardly  heart  shall  perish,  and 
shall  not  parry  the  thrust  of  death  by  flight,  though  it 
bury  itself  in  a  valley,  or  crouch  in  darkling  dens. 

"Once  we  were  eleven  princes,  devoted  followers  of 
King  Hakon,  and  here  Geigad  sat  above  Helge  in  the 
order  of  the  meal. 

"Geigad  used  to  appease  the  first  pangs  of  hunger  with 
a  dry  rump  of  ham ;  and  plenty  of  hard  crust  quelled  the 
craving  of  his  stomach. 

"No  one  asked  for  a  sickly  morsel ;  all  took  their  food 
in  common ;  the  meal  of  mighty  men  cost  but  slight  dis- 
play. 

"The  commons  shunned  foreign  victual,  and  the 
greatest  lusted  not  for  a  feast ;  even  the  king  remembered 
to  live  temperately  at  little  cost. 

401 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

"Scorning  to  look  at  the  mead,  he  drank  the  fermented 
juice  of  Ceres;  he  shrank  not  from  the  use  of  under- 
cooked meats,  and  hated  the  roast. 

"The  board  used  to  stand  with  sHght  display,  a  modest 
salt-cellar  showed  the  measure  of  its  cost;  lest  the  wise 
ways  of  antiquity  should  in  any  wise  be  changed  by 
foreign  usage. 

"Of  old,  no  man  put  flagons  or  mixing-bowls  on  the 
tables ;  the  steward  filled  the  cup  from  the  butt,  and  there 
was  no  abundance  of  adorned  vessels. 

"No  one  who  honoured-  past  ages  put  the  smooth  wine- 
jars  beside  the  tankards,  and-  of  old*  no  bedizened  lackey 
heaped  the  platter  with'  dainties. 

"Nor  did  the  vainglorious  host  deck  the  meal  with 
little  salt-shell  or  smooth  cup ;  but  all  has  been  now  abol- 
ished in  shameful  wise  by  the  new-fangled  manners. 

"Who  would  ever*  have  borne  to  take  money  in  ransom 
for  the  death  of  a  lost  parent,  or  to  have  asked  a  foe  for 
a  gift  to  atone  for  the  murder  of  a  father? 

"What  strong  heir-  or  well-starred  son  would  have  sat 
side  by  side  with  such  as  these,  letting  a  shameful  bargain 
utterly  unnerve  the  warrior  ? 

"Wherefore,  when  the  honours  of  kings  are  sung, 
and  bards  relate  the  victories  of  captains,  I  hide  my  face 
for  shame  in  my  mantle,  sick  at  heart. 

"For  nothing  shines  in  thy  trophies,  worthy  to  be  re- 
corded by  the  pen ;  no  heir  of  Frode  is  named  in  the  roll 
of  the  honourable. 

"Why  dost  thou  vex  me  with  insolent  gaze,  thou  who 
honourest  the  foe  guilty  of  thy  father's  blood,  and  art 

402 


BOOK  SIX 

thought  only  to  take  thy  vengeance  with  loaves  and  warm 
soup  ? 

"When  men  speak  well  of  the  avengers  of  crimes,  then 
long  thou  to  lose  thy  quick  power  of  hearing,  that  thy 
impious  spirit  may  not  be  ashamed. 

"For  oft  has  the  virtue  of  another  vexed  a  heart  that 
knows  its  guilt,  and  the  malice  in  the  breast  is  abashed 
by  the  fair  report  of  the  good. 

"Though  thou  go  to  the  East,  or  live  sequestered  in 
the  countries  of  the  West,  or  whether,  driven  thence, 
thou  seek  the  midmost  place  of  the  earth ; 

"Whether  thou  revisit  the  cold  quarter  of  the  heaven 
where  the  pole  is  to  be  seen,  and  carries  on  the  sphere 
with  its  swift  spin,  and  looks  down  upon  the  neighbour- 
ing Bear; 

"Shame  shall  accompany  thee  far,  and  shall  smite  thy 
countenance  with  heavy  disgrace,  when  the  united  assem- 
bly of  the  great  kings  is  taking  pastime. 

"Since  everlasting  dishonour  awaits  thee,  thou  canst 
not  come  amidst  the  ranks  of  the  famous;  and  in  every 
clime  thou  shalt  pass  thy  days  in  infamy. 

"The  fates  have  given  Frode  an  offspring  born  into 
the  world  when  gods  were  adverse,  whose  desires  have 
been  enthralled  by  crime  and  ignoble  lust. 

"Even  as  in  a  ship  all  things  foul  gather  to  the  filthy 
hollow  of  the  bilge,  even  so  hath  a  flood  of  vices  poured 
into  Ingild. 

"Therefore,  in  terror  of  thy  shame  being  published, 

thou  shalt  lie  crushed  in  the  corners  of  the  land,  sluggish 

on  thy  foul  hearth,  and  never  to  be  seen  in  the  array  of 

the  famous. 

403 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

"Then  shalt  thou  shake  thy  beard  at  thine  evil  fate, 
kept  down  by  the  taunts  of  thy  mistresses,  when  thy 
paramour  galls  thy  ear  with  her  querulous  cries. 

"Since  chill  fear  retards  thy  soul,  and  thou  dreadest 
to  become  the  avenger  of  thy  sire,  thou  art  utterly  degen- 
erate, and  thy  ways  are  like  a  slave's. 

"It  would  have  needed  scant  preparation  to  destroy 
thee;  even  as  if  a  man  should  catch  and  cut  the  throat 
of  a  kid,  or  slit  the  weazand  of  a  soft  sheep  and  butcher  it.  , 

"Behold,  a  son  of  the  tyrant  Swerting  shall  take  the 
inheritance  of  Denmark  after  thee;  he  whose  slothful 
sister  thou  keepest  in  infamous  union. 

"Whilst  thou  delightest  to  honour  thy  bride,  laden 
with  gems  and  shining  in  gold  apparel,  we  burn  with  an 
indignation  that  is  linked  with  shame,  lamenting  thy 
infamies. 

"When  thou  art  stirred  by  furious  lust,  our  mind  is 
troubled,  and  recalls  the  fashion  of  ancient  times,  and 
bids  us  grieve  sorely. 

"For  we  rate  otherwise  than  thou  the  crime  of  the 
foes  whom  now  thou  boldest  in  honour;  wherefore  the 
face  of  this  age  is  a  burden  to  me,  remembering  the 
ancient  ways. 

"I  would  crave  no  greater  blessing,  O  Frode,  if  I  might 
see  those  guilty  of  thy  murder  duly  punished  for  such  '■ 
a  crime." 

Now  he  prevailed  so  well  by  this  stirring  counsel,  that 
his  reproach  served  like  a  flint  wherewith  to  strike  a 
blazing  flame  of  valour  in  the  soul  that  had  been  chill 
and  slack.    For  the  king  had  at  first  heard  the  song  inat- 

404 


BOOK  SIX 

tentively;  but,  stirred  by  the  earnest  admonition  of  his 
guardian,  he  conceived  in  his  heart  a  tardy  fire  of  re- 
venge; and,  forgetting  the  reveller,  he  changed  into  the 
foernan.  At  last  he  leapt  up  from  where  he  lay,  and 
poured  the  whole  flood  of  his  anger  on  those  at  table  with 
him;  insomuch  that  he  unsheathed  his  sword  upon  the 
sons  of  Swerting  with  bloody  ruthlessness,  and  aimed 
with  drawn  l)lade  at  the  throats  of  those  whose  gullets 
he  had  pampered  with  the  pleasures  of  the  table.  These 
men  he  forthwith  slew ;  and  by  so  doing  he  drowned  the 
holy  rites  of  the  table  in  blood.  He  sundered  the  feeble 
bond  of  their  league,  and  exchanged  a  shameful  revel  for 
enormous  cruelty ;  the  host  became  the  foe,  and  that  vilest 
slave  of  excess  the  bloodthirsty  agent  of  revenge.  For 
the  vigorous  pleading  of  his  counsellor  bred  a  breath  of 
courage  in  his  soft  and  unmanly  youth ;  it  drew  out  his 
valour  from  its  lurking-place,  and  renewed  it,  and  so 
fashioned  it  that  the  authors  of  a  most  grievous  murder 
were  punished  even  as  they  deserved.  For  the  young 
man's  valour  had  been,  not  quenched,  but  only  in  exile, 
and  the  aid  of  an  old  man  had  drawn  it  out  into  the 
light ;  and  it  accomplished  a  deed  which  was  all  the 
greater  for  its  tardiness;  for  it  was  somewhat  nobler  to 
steep  the  cups  in  blood  than  in  wine.  What  a  spirit,  then, 
must  we  think  that  old  man  had,  who  by  his  eloquent 
adjuration  expelled  from  that  king's  mind  its  infinite 
sin,  and  w^ho,  bursting  the  bonds  of  iniquity,  implanted 
a  most  effectual  seed  of  virtue.  Starkad  aided  the  king 
with  equal  achievements ;  and  not  only  showed  the  most 
complete  courage  in  his  own  person,  but  summoned  back 

8  405 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

that  which  had  been  rooted  out  of  the  heart  of  another. 
When  the  deed  was  done,  he  thus  begun : 

"King  Ingild,  farewell;  thy  heart,  full  of  valour,  hath 
now  shown  a  deed  of  daring.  The  spirit  that  reigns  in 
thy  body  is  revealed  by  its  fair  beginning;  nor  did  there 
lack  deep  counsel  in  thy  heart,  though  thou  wert  silent 
till  this  hour;  for  thou  dost  redress  by  thy  bravery  what 
delay  had  lost,  and  redeemest  the  sloth  of  thy  spirit  by 
mighty  valour.  Come  now,  let  us  rout  the  rest,  and  let 
none  escape  the  peril  which  all  alike  deserve.  Let  the 
crime  come  home  to  the  culprit;  let  the  sin  return  and 
crush  its  contriver. 

"Let  the  servants  take  up  in  a  car  the  bodies  of  the 
slain,  and  let  the  attendant  quickly  bear  out  the  carcases. 
Justly  shall  they  lack  the  last  rites ;  they  are  unworthy  to 
be  covered  with  a  mound;  let  no  funeral  procession  or 
pyre  suffer  them  the  holy  honour  of  a  barrow;  let  them 
be  scattered  to  rot  in  the  fields,  to  be  consumed  by  the 
beaks  of  birds ;  let  them  taint  the  country  all  about  with 
their  deadly  corruption. 

"Do  thou  too,  king,  if  thou  hast  any  wit,  flee  thy  savage 
bride,  lest  the  she-wolf  bring  forth  a  litter  like  herself, 
and  a  beast  spring  from  thee  that  shall  hurt  its  own 
father. 

"Tell  me,  Rote,  continual  derider  of  cowards,  thinkest 
thou  that  we  have  avenged  Frode  enough,  when  we  have 
spent  seven  deaths  on  the  vengeance  of  one?  Lo,  those 
are  borne  out  dead  who  paid  homage  not  to  thy  sway  in 
deed,  but  only  in  show,  and  though  obsequious  they 
planned  treachery.     But  I  always  cherished  this  hope, 

406 


BOOK  SIX 

that  noble  fathers  have  noble  offspring,  who  will  follow 
in  their  character  the  lot  which  they  received  by  their 
birth.  Therefore,  Ingild,  better  now  than  in  time  past 
dost  thou  deserve  to  be  called  lord  of  Leire  and  of 
Denmark. 

"When,  O  King  Hakon,  I  was  a  beardless  youth,  and 
followed  thy  leading  and  command  in  warfare,  I  hated 
luxury  and  wanton  souls,  and  practiced  only  wars.  Train- 
ing body  and  mind  together,  I  banished  every  unholy 
thing  from  my  soul,  and  shunned  the  pleasures  of  the 
belly,  loving  deeds  of  prowess.  For  those  that  followed 
the  calling  of  arms  had  rough  clothing  and  common  gear 
and  short  slumbers  and  scanty  rest.  Toil  drove  ease  far 
away,  and  the  time  ran  by  at  scanty  cost.  Not  as  with 
some  men  now,  the  light  of  whose  reason  is  obscured  by 
insatiate  greed  with  its  blind  maw.  Some  one  of  these 
clad  in  a  covering  of  curiously  wrought  raiment  effemi- 
nately gaiides  the  fleet-footed  (steed),  and  unknots  his 
dishevelled  locks,  and  lets  his  hair  fly  abroad  loosely. 

"He  loves  to  plead  often  in  the  court,  and  to  covet  a 
base  pittance,  and  with  this  pursuit  he  comforts  his  slug- 
gish life,  doing  with  venal  tongue  the  business  entrusted 
to  him. 
f  "He  outrages  the  laws  by  force,  he  makes  armed 
assault  upon  men's  rights,  he  tramples  on  the  innocent, 
he  feeds  on  the  wealth  of  others,  he  practices  debauchery 
and  gluttony,  he  vexes  good  fellowship  with  biting  jeers, 
and  goes  after  harlots  as  a  hoe  after  the  grass. 

"The  coward  falls  when  battles  are  lulled  in  peace. 
Though  he  who  fears  death  lie  in  the  heart  of  the  valley, 

407 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

no  mantlet  shall  shelter  him.  His  final  fate  carries  off 
every  living  man ;  doom  is  not  to  be  averted  by  skulking. 
But  I,  who  have  shaken  the  whole  world  with  my 
slaughters,  shall  I  enjoy  a  peaceful  death?  Shall  I  be 
taken  up  to  the  stars  in  a  quiet  end?  Shall  I  die  in  my 
bed  without  a  wound?" 


408 


BOOK    SEVEN. 


We  are  told  by  historians  of  old,  that  Ingild  had  four 
sons,  of  whom  three  perished  in  war,  while  OLAif  alone 
reigned  after  his  father;  but  some  say  that  Olaf  was  the 
son  of  Ingild's  sister,  though  this  opinion  is  doubtful. 
Posterity  has  but  an  uncertain  knowledge  of  his  deeds, 
which  are  dim  with  the  dust  of  antiquity;  nothing  but 
the  last  counsel  of  his  wisdom  has  been  rescued  by  tra- 
dition. For  when  he  was  in  the  last  grip  of  death  he 
took  thought  for  his  sons  Frode  and  Harald,  and  bade 
them  have  royal  sway,  one  over  the  land  and  the  other 
over  the  sea,  and  receive  these  several  powers,  not  in 
prolonged  possession,  but  in  yearly  rotation.  Thus  their 
share  in  the  rule  was  made  equal ;  but  Frode,  who  was 
the  first  to  have  control  of  the  affairs  of  the  sea,  earned 
disgrace  from  his  continual  defeats  in  roving.  His  cal- 
amity was  due  to  his  sailors  being  newly  married,  and 
preferring  nuptial  joys  at  home  to  the  toils  of  foreign 
warfare.  After  a  time  Harald,  the  younger  son,  received 
the  rule  of  the  sea,  and  chose  soldiers  who  were  unmar- 
ried, fearing  to  be  baffled  hke  his  brother.  Fortune 
favoured  his  choice ;  for  he  was  as  glorious  a  rover  as 
his  brother  was  inglorious;  and  this  earned  him  his 
brother's  hatred.  Moreover,  their  queens,  vSigne  and 
Ulfhild,  one  of  whom  was  the  daughter  of  Siward,  King 

409 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

of  Sweden,  the  other  of  Karl,  the  governor  of  Gothland, 
were  continually  wrangling  as  to  which  was  the  nobler, 
and  broke  up  the  mutual  fellowship  of  their  husbands. 
Hence  Harald  and  Frode,  when  their  common  household 
was  thus  shattered,  divided  up  the  goods  they  held  in 
common,  and  gave  more  heed  to  the  wrangling  alterca- 
tions of  the  women  than  to  the  duties  of  brotherly 
affection. 

Moreover,  Frode,  judging  that  his  brother's  glory  was 
a  disgrace  to  himself  and  brought  him  into  contempt, 
ordered  one  of  his  household  to  put  him  to  death  secretly ; 
for  he  saw  that  the  man  of  whom  he  had  the  advantage 
in  years  was  surpassing  him  in  courage.  When  the  deed 
was  done,  he  had  the  agent  of  his  treachery  privily  slain, 
lest  the  accomplice  should  betray  the  crime.  Then,  in 
order  to  gain  the  credit  of  innocence  and  escape  the  brand 
of  crime,  he  ordered  a  full  inquiry  to  be  made  into  the 
mischance  that  had  cut  off  his  brother  so  suddenly.  But 
he  could  not  manage,  by  all  his  arts,  to  escape  silent  con- 
demnation in  the  thoughts  of  the  common  people.  He 
afterwards  asked  Karl,  "who  had  killed  Harald?"  and 
Karl  replied  that  it  was  deceitful  in  him  to  ask  a  question 
about  something  which  he  kne^v  quite  well.  These  words 
earned  him  his  death;  for  Frode  thought  that  he  had 
reproached  him  covertly  with  fratricide. 

After  this,  the  lives  of  Harald  and  Halfdan,  the  sons 
of  Harald  by  Signe  the  daughter  of  Karl,  were  attempted 
by  their  uncle.  But  the  guardians  devised  a  cunning 
method  of  saving  their  wards.  For  they  cut  off  the 
claws  of  wolves  and  tied  them  to  the  soles  of  their  feet ; 

410 


BOOK  SEVEN 

and  then  made  them  run  along  many  times  so  as  to  har- 
row up  the  mud  near  their  dwelhng,  as  well  as  the  ground 
(then  covered  with  snow),  and  give  the  appearance  of 
an  attack  by  wild  beasts.  Then  they  killed  the  children  of 
some  bond-women,  tore  their  bodies  into  little  pieces, 
and  scattered  their  mangled  limbs  all  about.  So  when 
the  youths  were  looked  for  in  vain,  the  scattered  limbs 
were  found,  the  tracks  of  the  beasts  were  pointed  out,  and 
the  ground  was  seen  besmeared  with  blood.  It  was  be- 
lieved that  the  boys  had  been  devoured  by  ravening 
wolves ;  and  hardly  anyone  was  suffered  to  doubt  so  plain 
a  proof  that  they  were  mangled.  The  belief  in  this  spec- 
tacle served  to  protect  the  wards.  They  were  presently 
shut  up  by  their  guardians  in  a  hollow  oak,  so  that  no 
trace  of  their  being  alive  should  get  abroad,  and  were  fed 
for  a  long  time  under  pretence  that  they  were  dogs ;  and 
were  even  called  by  hounds'  names,  to  prevent  any  belief 
getting  abroad  that  they  were  hiding.* 

Frode  alone  refused  to  believe  in  their  death;  and  he 
went  and  inquired  of  a  woman  skilled  in  divination  where 
they  were  hid.  So  potent  were  her  spells,  that  she  seemed 
able,  at  any  distance,  to  perceive  anything,  however  intri- 
cately locked  away,  and  to  summon  it  out  to  light.  She 
declared  that  one  Ragnar  had  secretly  undertaken  to  rear 
them,  and  had  called  them  by  the  names  of  dogs  to  cover 
the  matter.  \A'lien  the  young  men  found  themselves 
dragged  from  their  hiding  by  the  awful  force  of  her 
spells,  and  brought  before  the  eyes  of  the  enchantress, 
loth  to  be  betrayed  by  this  terrible  and  imperious  com- 

*A   parallel   is   the   Lionel-Lancelot  story   of  children   saved  by  being 
turned  into  dogs. 

411 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

pulsion,  they  flung  into  her  lap  a  shower  of  gold  which 
they  had  received  from  their  guardians.  When  she  had 
taken  the  gift,  she  suddenly  feigned  death,  and  fell  like 
one  lifeless.  Her  servants  asked  the  reason  why  she  fell 
so  suddenly ;  and  she  declared  that  the  refuge  of  the  sons 
of  Harald  was  inscrutable;  for  their  wondrous  might 
qualified  even  the  most  awful  effects  of  her  spells.  Thus 
she  was  content  with  a  slight  benefit,  and  could  not  bear 
to  await  a  greater  reward  at  the  king's  hands.  After 
this  Ragnar,  finding  that  the  belief  concerning  himself 
and  his  wards  was  becoming  rife  in  common  talk,  took 
them  both  away  into  Funen.  Here  he  was  taken  by 
Frode,  and  confessed  that  he  had  put  the  young  men 
in  safe  keeping;  and  he  prayed  the  king  to  spare  the 
wards  whom  he  had  made  fatherless,  and  not  to  think 
it  a  piece  of  good  fortune  to  be  guilty  of  two  unnatural 
murders.  By  this  speech  he  changed  the  king's  cruelty 
into  shame;  and  he  promised  that  if  they  attempted  any 
plots  in  their  own  land,  he  would  give  information  to 
the  king.  Thus  he  gained  safety  for  his  wards,  and 
lived  many  years  in  freedom  from  terror. 

When  the  boys  grew  up,  they  went  to  Zealand,  and 
were  bidden  by  their  friends  to  avenge  their  father.  They 
vowed  that  they  and  their  uncle  should  not  both  live  out 
the  year.  When  Ragnar  found  this  out,  he  went  by  night 
to  the  palace,  prompted  by  the  recollection  of  his  cove- 
nant, and  announced  that  he  was  come  privily  to  tell  the 
king  something  he  had  promised.  But  the  king  was 
asleep,  and  he  would  not  suffer  them  to  wake  him  up, 
because  Frode  had  been  used  to  punish  any  disturbance 

412 


BOOK  SEVEN 

of  his  rest  with  the  sword.  So  mighty  a  matter  was  it 
thought  of  old  to  break  the  slumbers  of  a  king  by  un- 
timely intrusion,  Frode  heard  this  from  the  sentries 
in  the  morning;  and  when  he  perceived  that  Ragnar  had 
come  to  tell  him  of  the  treachery,  he  gathered  together 
his  soldiers,  and  resolved  to  forestall  deceit  by  ruthless 
measures.  Harald's  sons  had  no  help  for  it  but  to  feign 
madness.  For  when  they  found  themselves  suddenly 
attacked,  they  began  to  behave  like  maniacs,  as  if  they 
were  distraught.  And  when  Frode  thought  that  they 
were  possessed,  he  gave  up  his  purpose,  thinking  it 
shameful  to  attack  with  the  sword  those  who  seemed 
to  be  turning  the  sword  against  themselves.  But  he  was 
burned  to  death  by  them  on  the  following  night,  and 
was  punished  as  befitted  a  fratricide.  For  they  attacked 
the  palace,  and  first  crushing  the  queen  with  a  mass  of 
stones  and  then,  having  set  fire  to  the  house,  they  forced 
Frode  to  crawl  into  a  narrow  cave  that  had  been  cut  out 
long  before,  and  into  the  dark  recesses  of  tunnels.  Here 
he  lurked  in  hiding  and  perished,  stifled  by  the  reek  and 
smoke. 

After  Frode  was  killed,  HalFdan  reigned  over  his 
country  about  three  years,  and  then,  handing  over  his 
sovereignty  to  his  brother  Harald  as  deputy,  went  roving, 
and  attacked  and  ravaged  Oland  and  the  neighbouring 
isles,  which  are  severed  from  contact  with  Sweden  by  a 
winding  sound.  Here  in  the  winter  he  beached  and  en- 
trenched his  ships,  and  spent  three  years  on  the  expedi- 
tion. After  this  he  attacked  Sweden,  and  destroyed  its 
king  in  the  field.     Afterwards  he  prepared  to  meet  the 

413 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

king's  grandson  Erik,  the  son  of  his  own  uncle  Frode,  in 
battle;  and  when  he  heard  that  Erik's  champion,  Hakon, 
was  skillful  in  blunting  swords  with  his  spells,  he  fash- 
ioned, to  use  for  clubbing,  a  huge  mace  studded  with  iron 
knobs,  as  if  he  would  prevail  by  the  strength  of  wood 
over  the  power  of  sorcery.  Then — for  he  was  conspicuous 
beyond  all  others  for  his  bravery — amid  the  hottest 
charges  of  the  enemy,  he  covered  his  head  with  his 
helmet,  and,  without  a  shield,  poised  his  club,  and  with 
the  help  of  both  hands  whirled  it  against  the  bulwark  of 
shields  before  him.  No  obstacle  was  so  stout  but  it  was 
crushed  to  pieces  by  the  blow  of  the  mass  that  smote  it. 
Thus  he  overthrew  the  champion,  who  ran  against  him 
in  the  battle,  with  a  violent  stroke  of  his  weapon.  But 
he  was  conquered  notwithstanding,  and  fled  away  into 
Helsingland,  where  he  went  to  one  Witolf  (who  had 
served  of  old  with  Harald),  to  seek  tendance  for  his 
wounds.  This  man  had  spent  most  of  his  life  in  camp ; 
but  at  last,  after  the  grievous  end  of  his  general,  he  had 
retreated  into  this  lonely  district,  where  he  lived  the  life 
of  a  peasant,  and  rested  from  the  pursuits  of  war.  Often 
struck  himself  by  the  missiles  of  the  enemy,  he  had  gained 
no  slight  skill  in  leechcraft  by  constantly  tending  his  own 
wounds.  But  if  anyone  came  with  flatteries  to  seek  his 
aid,  instead  of  curing  him  he  was  accustomed  to  give 
him  something  that  would  secretly  injure  him.  thinking 
it  somewhat  nobler  to  threaten  than  to  wheedle  for  bene- 
fits. When  the  soldiers  of  Erik  menaced  his  house,  in 
their  desire  to  take  Halfdan,  he  so  robbed  them  of  the 
power  of  sight  that  they  could  neither  perceive  the  house 

414 


BOOK  SEVEN 

nor  trace  it  with  certainty,  though  it  was  close  to  them. 
So  utterly  had  their  eyesight  been  dulled  by  a  decisive  mist. 
When  Halfdan  had  by  this  man's  help  regained  his 
full  strength,  he  summoned  Thore,  a  champion  of  notable 
capacity,  and  proclaimed  war  against  Erik.  But  when  the 
forces  were  led  out  on  the  other  side,  and  he  saw  that  Erik 
was  superior  in  numbers,  he  hid  a  part  of  his  army,  and 
instructed  it  to  lie  in  ambush  among  the  bushes  by  the 
wayside,  in  order  to  destroy  the  enemy  by  an  ambuscade 
as  he  marched  through  the  narrow  part  of  the  path. 
Erik  foresaw  this,  having  reconnoitred  his  means  of  ad- 
vancing, and  thought  he  must  withdraw  for  fear,  if  he 
advanced  along  the  track  he  had  intended,  of  being  hard- 
pressed  by  the  tricks  of  the  enemy  among  the  steep  wind- 
ings of  the  hills.  They  therefore  joined  battle,  force 
against  force,  in  a  deep  valley,  inclosed  all  round  by  lofty 
mountain  ridges.  Here  Halfdan,  when  he  saw  the  line 
of  his  men  wavering,  climbed  with  Thore  up  ^  crag 
covered  with  stones  and,  uprooting  boulders,  rolled  them 
dowTi  upon  the  enemy  below;  and  the  weight  of  these 
as  they  fell  crushed  the  line  that  was  drawTi  up  in  the 
lower  position.  Thus  he  regained  with  stones  the  victory 
which  he  had  lost  with  amis.  For  this  deed  of  prowess 
he  received  the  name  of  Biargramm  (rock  strong),  a 
word  which  seems  to  have  been  compounded  from  the 
name  of  his  fierceness  and  of  the  mountains.  He  soon 
gained  so  much  esteem  for  this  among  the  Swedes  that 
he  was  thought  to  be  the  son  of  the  great  Thor,  and  the 
people  bestowed  divine  honours  upon  him,  and  judged 
him  worthy  of  public  libation. 

415 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

But  the  souls  of  the  conquered  find  it  hard  to  rest,  and 
the  insolence  of  the  beaten  ever  stn,iggles  towards  the 
forbidden  thing.     So  it  came  to  pass  that  Erik,  in  his 
desire  to  repair  the  losses  incurred  in  flight,  attacked  the 
districts  subject  to  Halfdan.     Even  Denmark  he  did  not 
exempt  from  this  harsh  treatment;  for  he  thought  it  a 
most  worthy  deed  to  assail  the  country  of  the  man  who 
had  caused  him  to  be  driven  from  his  own.     And  so, 
being  more  anxious  to  inflict  injury  than  to  repel  it,  he 
set  Sweden  free  from  the  arms  of  the  enemy.     When 
Halfdan  heard  that  his  brother  Harald  had  been  beaten 
by  Erik  in  three  battles,  and  slain  in  the  fourth,  he  was 
afraid  of  losing  his  empire;  he  had  to  quit  the  land  of 
the  Swedes  and  go  back  to  his  own  country.     Thus  Erik 
regained  the  kingdom  of  Sweden  all  the  more  quickly, 
that  he  quitted  it  so  lightly.     Had   fortune  wished  to 
favour  him  in  keeping  his  kingdom  as  much  as  she  had 
in  regaining  it,  she  would  in  nowise  have  given  him  into 
the  hand  of  Halfdan.     This  capture  was  made  in  the 
following   way:      When    Halfdan   had   gone  back   into 
Sweden,  he  hid  his  fleet  craftily,  and  went  to  meet  Erik 
with   two   vessels.      Erik   attacked   him    with   ten;    and 
Halfdan,  sailing  through  sundry  winding  channels,  stole 
back  to  his  concealed  forces.     Erik  pursued  him  too  far, 
and  the  Danish  fleet  came  out  on  the  sea.    Thus  Erik  was 
surrounded;  but  he  rejected  the  life,  which  was  offered 
him  under  condition  of  thraldom.     He  could   not  bear 
to  think  more  of  the  light  of  day  than  liberty,  and  chose 
to  die  rather  than  serve ;  lest  he  should  seem  to  love  life 
so  well  as  to  turn  from  a  slave  into  a  freeman ;  and  that 

416 


BOOK  SEVEN 

he  niieht  not  court  with  new-born  obeisance  the  man 
whom  fortune  had  just  before  made  only  his  equal. 
So  little  knows  virtue  how  to  buy  life  with  dishonour. 
Wherefore  he  was  put  in  chains,  and  banished  to  a  place 
haunted  by  wild  beasts;  an  end  unworthy  of  that  lofty 
spirit. 

Halfdan  had  thus  become  sovereign  of  both  kingdoms, 
and  graced  his  fame  with  a  triple  degree  of  honour.  For 
he  was  skillful  and  eloquent  in  composing  poems  in  the 
fashion  of  his  country;  and  he  was  no  less  notable  as  a 
valorous  champion  than  as  a  powerful  king.  But  when 
he  heard  that  two  active  rovers,  Toke  and  Anund,  were 
threatening  the  surrounding  districts,  he  attacked  and 
routed  them  in  a  sea-fight.  For  the  ancients  thought  that 
nothing  was  more  desirable  than  glory  which  was  gained, 
not  by  brilliancy  of  wealth,  but  by  address  in  arms. 
Accordingly,  the  most  famous  men  of  old  were  so  minded 
as  to  love  seditions,  to  renew  quarrels,  to  loathe  ease,  to 
prefer  fighting  to  peace,  to  be  rated  by  their  valour  and 
not  by  their  wealth,  to  find  their  greatest  delight  in  battles, 
and  their  least  in  banquetings. 

But  Halfdan  was  not  long  to  seek  for  a  rival.  A 
certain  Siwald,  of  most  illustrious  birth,  related  with 
lamentation  in  the  assembly  of  the  Swedes  the  death  of 
Frode  and  his  queen ;  and  inspired  in  almost  all  of  them 
such  a  hatred  of  Halfdan,  that  the  vote  of  the  majority 
granted  him  permission  to  revolt.  Nor  was  he  content 
with  the  mere  goodwill  of  their  voices,  but  so  won  the 
heart  of  the  commons  by  his  crafty  canvassing  that  he 
induced  almost  all  of  them  to  set  with  their  hands  the 

417 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

royal  emblem  on  his  head.  Sivvald  had  seven  sons,  who 
were  such  clever  sorcerers  that  often,  inspired  with  the 
force  of  sudden  frenzy,  they  would  roar  savagely,  bite 
their  shields,  swallow  hot  coals,  and  go  through  any  fire 
that  could  be  piled  up;  and  their  frantic  passion  could 
only  be  checked  by  the  rigour  of  chains,  or  propitiated 
by  slaughter  of  men.  With  such  a  frenzy  did  their  own 
sanguinary  temper,  or  else  the  fury  of  demons,  inspire 
them. 

When  Halfdan  had  heard  of  these  things  while  busy 
roving,  he  said  it  was  right  that  his  soldiers,  who  had 
hitherto  spent  their  rage  upon  foreigners,  should  now 
smite  with  the  steel  the  flesh  of  their  own  countrymen, 
and  that  they  who  had  been  used  to  labour  to  extend 
their  realm  should  now  avenge  its  wrongful  seizure.  On 
Halfdan  approaching,  Siwald  sent  him  ambassadors  and 
requested  him,  if  he  was  as  great  in  act  as  in  renown,  to 
meet  himself  and  his  sons  in  single  combat,  and  save  the 
general  peril  by  his  own.  When  the  other  answered,  that 
a  combat'  could  not  lawfully  be  fought  by  more  than  two 
men,  Siwald  said,  that  it  was  no  wonder  that  a  childless 
bachelor  should  refuse  the  proffered  conflict,  since  his 
nature  was  void  of  heat,  and  had  struck  a  disgraceful 
»  frost  into  his  soul  and  body  Children,  he  added,  were 
not  different  from  the  man  who  begot  them,  since  they 
drew  from'  him  their  common  principle  of  birth.  Thus 
he  and  his  sons  were  to  be  accounted  as  one  person,  for 
nature  seemed  in  a  manner  to  have  bestowed  on  them  a 
single  body.  Halfdan,  stung  with  this  shameful  affront, 
accepted  the  challenge;  meaning  to  wipe  out  with  noble 

418 


BOOK  SEVEN 

deeds  of  valour  such  an  insulting  taunt  upon  his  celibacy, 
And  while  he  chanced  to  be  walking  through  a  shady 
woodland,  he  plucked  up  by  the  roots  an  oak  that  stuck 
in  his  path,  and,  by  simply  stripping  it  of  its  branches, 
made  it  look  like  a  stout  club.  Having  this  trusty  weapon, 
he  composed  a  short  song  as  follows : 

"Behold !  the  rough  burden  which  I  bear  with  strain- 
ing crest,  shall  unto  crests  bring  wounds  and  destruction. 
Never  shall  any  weapon  of  leafy  wood  crush  the  Goths 
with  direr  augury.  It  shall  shatter  the  towering  strength 
of  the  knotty  neck,  and  shall  bruise  the  hollow  temples 
with  the  mass  of  timber.  The  club  which  shall  quell  the 
wild  madness  of  the  land  shall  be  no  less  fatal  to  the 
Swedes.  Breaking  bones,  and  brandished  about  the 
mangled  limbs  of  warriors,  the  stock  I  have  wrenched  off 
shall  crush  the  backs  of  the  wicked,  crush  the  hearths  of 
our  kindred,  shed  the  blood  of  our  countrymen,  and  be  a 
destructive  pest  upon  our  land." 

When  he  had  said  this,  he  attacked  Siwald  and  his 
seven  sons,  and  destroyed  them,  their  force  and  bravery 
being  useless  against  the  enormous  mass  of  his  club. 

At  this  time  one  Hardbeen,  who  came  from  Helsing- 
land,  gloried  in  kidnapping  and  ravishing  princesses,  and 
used  to  kill  any  man  who  hindered  him  in  his  lusts.  He 
preferred  high  matches  to  those  that  were  lowly ;  and  the 
more  illustrious  the  victims  he  could  violate,  the  more 
noble  he  thought  himself.  No  man  escaped  unpunished 
who  durst  measure  himself  with  Hardbeen  in  valour. 
He  was  so  huge,  that  his  stature  reached  the  measure  of 
nine  ells.     He  had  twelve  champions  dwelling  with  him, 

419 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

whose  business  it  was  to  rise  up  and  to  restrain  his  fury 
with  the  aid  of  bonds,  whenever  the  rage  came  on  him 
that  foreboded  of  battle.  These  men  asked  Half  den  to 
attack  Hardbeen  and  his  champions  man  by  man;  and 
he  not  only  promised  to  fight,  but  assured  himself  the 
victory  with  most  confident  words.  When  Hardbeen 
heard  this,  a  demoniacal  frenzy  suddenly  took  him;  he 
furiously  bit  and  devoured  the  edges  of  his  shield;  he 
kept  gulping  down  fiery  coals;  he  snatched  live  efnbers 
in  his  mouth  and  let  them  pass  down  into  his  entrails; 
he  rushed  through  the  perils  of  crackling  fires;  and  at 
last,  when  he  had  raved  through  every  sort  of  madness, 
he  turned  his  sword  with  raging  hand  against  the  hearts 
of  six  of  his  champions.  It  is  doubtful  whether  this- 
madness  came  from  thirst  for  battle  or  natural  ferocity. 
Then  with  the  remaining  band  of  his  champions  he  at- 
tacked Halfdan,  who  crushed  him  with  a  hammer  of 
wondrous  size,  so  that  he  lost  both  victory  and  life; 
paying  the  penalty  both  to  Halfdan,  whom  he  had  chal- 
lenged, and  to  the  kings  whose  ofifspring  he  had  violently 
ravished. 

Fortune  never  seemed  satisfied  with  the  trying  of  Half- 
dan's  strength,  and  used  to  offer  him  unexpected  occa- 
sions for  fighting.  It  so  happened  that  Egther,  a  Fin- 
lander,  was  harrying  the  Swedes  on  a  roving  raid.  Half- 
dan, having  found  that  he  had  three  ships,  attacked  him 
with  the  same  number.  Night  closed  the  battle,  so  that 
he  could  not  conquer  him ;  but  he  challenged  Egther  next 
day,  fought  with  and  overthrew  him.  He  next  heard 
that  Grim,  a  champion  of  immense  strength,  was  suing, 

420 


BOOK  SEVEN 

under  threats  of  a  duel,  for  Thorhikl,  the  daughter  of 
tlie  chief  Hather,  and  that  her  father  had  proclaimed 
that  he  who  put  the  champion  out  of  the  way  should  have 
her.  Halfdan,  though  he  had  reached  old  age  a  bachelor, 
was  stirred  by  the  promise  of  the  chief  as  much  as  by  the 
insolence  of  the  champion,  and  went  to  Norway.  When 
he  entered  it,  he  blotted  out  every  mark  by  which  he  could 
be  recognized,  disguising  his  face  with  splashes  of  dirt ; 
and  when  he  came  to  the  spot  of  the  battle,  drew  his 
sword  first.  And  when  he  knew  that  it  had  been  blunted 
by  the  glance  of  the  enemy,  he  cast  it  on  the  ground, 
drew  another  from  tlic  sheath,  with  which  he  attacked 
Grim,  cutting  through  the  meshes  on  the  edge  of  his 
cuirass,  as  well  as  the  lower  part  of  his  shield.  Grim 
wondered  at  the  deed,  and  said,  "I  cannot  remember  an 
old  man  who  fought  more  keenly;"  and,  instantly  draw- 
ing his  sword,  he  pierced  through  and  shattered  the 
target  that  was  opposed  to  his  blade.  But  as  his  right 
arm  tarried  on  the  stroke,  Halfdan,  without  wavering, 
met  and  smote  it  swiftly  with  his  sword.  The  other, 
notwithstanding,  clasped  his  sword  with  his  left  hand, 
and  cut  through  the  thigh  of  the  striker,  revenging  the 
mangling  of  his  own  body  with  a  slight  wound.  Halfdan, 
now  conqueror,  allowed  the  conquered  man  to  ransom 
the  remnant  of  his  life  with  a  sum  of  money;  he  would 
not  be  thought  shamefully  to  rob  a  maimed  man,  who 
could  not  fight,  of  the  pitiful  remainder  of  liis  days.  By 
this  deed  he  showed  himself  almost  as  great  in  saving 
as  in  conquering  his  enemy.  As  a  prize  for  this  victory 
he  won  Thorhild  in  marriage,  and  had  by  her  a   son 

9  421 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

Asmund,  from  whom  the  kings  of  Norway  treasure  the 
honour  of  bemg  descended;  retracing  the  regular  suc- 
cession of  their  line  down  from  Halfdan. 

After  this,  Ebbe,  a  rover  of  common  birth,  was  so 
confident  of  his  valour,  that  he  was  moved  to  aspire  to 
a  splendid  marriage.  He  was  a  suitor  for  Sigrid,  the 
daughter  of  Yngwin,  King  of  the  Goths,  and  moreover 
demanded  half  the  Gothic  kingdom  for  her  dowry. 
Halfdan  was  consulted  whether  the  match  should  be 
entertained,  and  advised  that  a  feigned  consent  should 
be  given,  promising  that  he  would  baulk  the  marriage. 
He  also  gave  instructions  that  a  seat  should  be  allotted 
to  himself  among  the  places  of  the  guests  at  table, 
Yngwin  approved  the  advice;  and  Halfdan,  utterly  de- 
facing the  dignity  of  his  royal  presence  with  an  unsightly 
and  alien  disguise,  and  coming  by  night  on  the  wedding 
feast,  alarmed  those  who  met  him ;  for  they  marvelled  at 
the  coming  of  a  man  of  such  superhuman  stature. 

When  Halfdan  entered  the  palace,  he  looked  round  on 
all  and  asked,  who  was  he  that  had  taken  the  place  next 
to  the  king  ?  Upon  Ebbe  replying  that  the  future  son-in- 
law  of  the  king  was  next  to  his  side,  Halfdan  asked  him, 
in  the  most  passionate  language,  what  madness,  or  what 
demons,  had  brought  him  to  such  wantonness,  as  to  make 
bold  to  unite  his  contemptible  and  filthy  race  with  a 
splendid  and  illustrious  line,  or  to  dare  to  lay  his  peasant 
finger  upon  the  royal  family :  and,  not  content  even  with 
such  a  claim,  to  aspire,  as  it  seemed,  to  a  share  even  in 
the  kingdom  of  another.  Then  he  bade  Ebbe  fight  him, 
saying  that  he  must  get  the  victory  before  he  got  his 

422 


BOOK  SEVEN 

wish.  The  other  answered  that  the  night  was  the  time 
to  fight  with  monsters,  but  the  day  the  time  with  men ;  but 
Halfdan,  to  prevent  him  shirking  the  battle  by  pleading 
the  hour,  declared  that  the  moon  was  shining  with  the 
brightness  of  daylight.  Thus  he  forced  Ebbe  to  fight, 
and  felled  him,  turning  the  banquet  into  a  spectacle,  and 
the  wedding  into  a  funeral. 

Some  years  passed,  and  Halfdan  went  back  to  his  own 
country,  and  being  childless  he  bequeathed  the  royal 
wealth  by  will  to  Yngwin,  and  appointed  him  king. 
Yngwin  was  afterwards  overthrown  in  war  by  a  rival 
named  Ragnald,  and  he  left  a  son  Siwald. 

Siwald's  daughter,  Sigrid,  was  of  such  excellent  mod- 
esty, that  though  a  great  concourse  of  suitors  wooed  her 
for  her  beauty,  it  seemed  as  if  she  could  not  be  brought 
to  look  at  one  of  them.  Confident  in  this  power  of  self- 
restraint,  she  asked  her  father  for  a  husband  who  by  the 
sweetness  of  his  blandishments  should  be  able  to  get  a 
look  back  from  her.  For  in  old  time  among  us  the  self- 
restraint  of  the  maidens  was  a  great  subduer  of  wanton 
looks,  lest  the  soundness  of  the  soul  should  be  infected 
by  the  licence  of  the  eyes ;  and  women  desired  to  avouch 
the  purity  of  their  hearts  by  the  modesty  of  their  faces. 
Then  one  Ottar,  the  son  of  Ebb,  kindled  with  confidence 
in  the  greatness  either  of  his  own  achievements,  or  of 
his  courtesy  and  eloquent  address,  stubbornly  and  ardently 
desired  to  woo  the  maiden.  And  though  he  strove  with 
all  the  force  of  his  wit  to  soften  her  gaze,  no  device 
whatever  could  move  her  downcast  eyes ;  and,  man^elling 
at  her  persistence  in  her  indomitable  rigour,  he  departed. 

423 


SAXO  CRAMMATICUS 

A  giant  desired  the  same  thing,  but,  finding  himself 
equally  foiled,  he  suborned  a  woman;  and  she,  pretend- 
ing friendship  for  the  girl,  served  her  for  a  while  as  her 
handmaid,  and  at  last  enticed  her  far  from  her  father's 
house,  by  cunningly  going  out  of  the  way ;  then  the  giant 
rushed  upon  her  and  bore  her  off  into  the  closest  fast- 
nesses of  a  ledge  on  the  mountain.  Others  think  that  he 
disguised  himself  as  a  woman,  treacherously  continued 
his  devices  so  as  to  draw  the  girl  away  from  her  own 
house,  and  in  the  end  carried  her  off.  When  Ottar  heard 
of  this,  he  ransacked  the  recesses  of  the  mountain  in 
search  of  the  maiden,  found  her,  slew  the  giant,  and  bore 
her  off.  But  the  assiduous  giant  had  bound  back  the 
locks  of  the  maiden,  tightly  twisting  her  hair  in  such  a 
way  that  the  matted  mass  of  tresses  was  held  in  a  kind 
of  curled  bundle ;  nor  was  it  easy  for  anyone  to  unravel 
their  plaited  tangle,  without  using  the  steel.  Again,  he 
tried  with  divers  allurements  to  provoke  the  maiden  to 
look  at  him ;  and  when  he  had  long  laid  vain  siege  to 
her  listless  eyes,  he  abandoned  his  quest,  since  his  purpose 
turned  out  so  little  to  his  liking.  But  he  could  not 
bring  himself  to  violate  the  girl,  loth  to  defile  with  ignoble 
intercourse  one  of  illustrious  birth.  She  then  wandered 
long,  and  sped  through  divers  desert  and  circuitous  paths, 
and  happened  to  come  to  the  hut  of  a  certain  huge  woman 
of  the  woods,  who  set  her  to  the  task  of  pasturing  her 
goats.  Again  Ottar  granted  her  his  aid  to  set  her  free, 
and  again  he  tried  to  move  her,  addressing  her  in  this 
fashion : 

"Wouldst  thou  rather  hearken  to  my  counsels,  and  em- 

424 


BOOK  SEVEN 

brace  me  even  as  I  desire,  than  be  here  and  tend  the  flock 
of  rank  goats? 

"Spurn  the  hand  of  thy  wicked  mistress,  and  flee 
hastily  from  thy  cruel  taskmistress,  that  thou  mayst  go 
back  with  me  to  the  ships  of  thy  friends  and  live  in 
freedom, 

"Quit  the  care  of  the  sheep  entrusted  to  thee;  scorn 
to  drive  the  steps  of  the  goats;  share  my  bed,  and  fitly 
reward  my  prayers. 

"O  thou  whom  I  have  sought  with  such  pains,  turn 
again  thy  listless  beams;  for  a  little  while — it  is  an  easy 
gesture — lift  thy  modest  face. 

"I  will  take  thee  hence,  and  set  thee  by  the  house  of 
thy  father,  and  unite  thee  joyfully  with  thy  loving 
mother,  if  but  once  thou  wilt  show  me  thine  eyes  stirred 
with  soft  desires. 

"Thou,  wiiom  I  have  borne  so  oft  from  the  prisons  of 
the  giants,  pay  thou  some  due  favour  to  my  toil  of  old; 
pity  my  hard  endeavours,  and  be  stern  no  more. 

"For  why  art  thou  become  so  distraught  and  brain- 
sick, that  thou  wilt  choose  to  tend  the  flock  of  another, 
and  be  counted  among  the  servants  of  monsters,  sooner 
than  encourage  our  marriage-troth  with  fitting  and  equal 
consent  ?" 

But  she,  that  she  might  not  suffer  the  constancy  of  her 
chaste  mind  to  falter  by  looking  at  the  world  without, 
restrained  her  gaze,  keq^ing  her  lids  immovably  rigid. 
How  modest,  then,  must  we  think,  were  the  women  of 
that  age,  when,  under  the  strongest  provocations  of  their 
lovers,  they  could  not  be  brought  to  make  the  slightest 

425 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

motion  of  their  eyes !  So  when  Ottar  found  that  even  by 
the  merits  of  his  double  service  he  could  not  stir  the  maid- 
en's gaze  towards  him,  he  went  back  to  the  fleet,  wearied 
out  with  shame  and  chagrin.  Sigrid,  in  her  old  fashion, 
ran  far  away  over  the  rocks,  and  chanced  to  stray  in 
her  wanderings  to  the  abode  of  Ebb;  where,  ashamed  of 
her  nakedness  and  distress,  she  pretended  to  be  a 
daughter  of  paupers.  The  mother  of  Ottar  saw  that  this 
woman,  though  bestained  and  faded,  and  covered  with  a 
meagre  cloak,  was  the  scion  of  some  noble  stock ;  and 
took  her,  and  with  honourable  courtesy  kept  her  by  her 
side  in  a  distinguished  seat.  For  the  beauty  of  the 
maiden  Avas  a  sign  that  betrayed  her  birth,  and  her  tell- 
tale features  echoed  her  lineage.  Ottar  saw  her,  and 
asked  why  she  hid  her  face  in  her  robe.  Also,  in  order 
to  test?  her  mind  more  surely,  he  feigned  that  a  woman 
was  about  to  become  his  wife,  and,  as  he  went  up  into 
the  bride-bed,  gave  Sigrid  the  torch  to  hold.  The  lights 
had  almost  burnt  down,  and  she  was  hard  put  to  it  by 
the  flame  coming  closer;  but  she  showed  such  an  example 
of  endurance  that  she  was  seen  to  hold  her  hand  motion- 
less, and  might  have  been  thought  to  feel  no  annoyance 
from  the  heat.  For  the  fire  within  mastered  the  fire  with- 
out, and  the  glow  of  her  longing  soul  deadened  the  burn 
of  her  scorched  skin.  At  last  Ottar  bade  her  look  to  her 
hand.  Then,  modestly  lifting  her  eyes,  she  turned  her 
calm  gaze  upon  him ;  and  straightway,  the  pretended 
marriage  being  put  awa3%  went  up  unto  the  bride-bed  to 
be  his  wife.  Siwald  afterwards  seized  Ottar.  and  thought 
that  he  ought  to  be  hanged  for  defiling  his  daughter. 

426 


BOOK  SEVEN 

But  Sigrid  at  once  explained  how  she  had  happened  to 
be  carried  away,  and  not  only  brought  Ottar  back  into  the 
king's  favour,  but  also  induced  her  father  himself  to 
marry  Ottar's  sister. 

After  this  a  battle  was  fought  between  Siwald  and 
Ragnald  in  Zealand,  warriors  of  picked  valour  being 
chosen  on  both  sides.  For  three  days  they  slaughtered 
one  another ;  but  so  great  was  the  bravery  of  both  sides, 
that  it  was  doubtful  how  the  victory  would  go.  Then 
Ottar,  whether  seized  with  weariness  at  the  prolonged 
battle,  or  with  desire  of  glory,  broke,  despising  death, 
through  the  thickest  of  the  foe,  cut  down  Ragnald  among 
the  bravest  of  his  soldiers,  and  won  the  Danes  a  sudden 
victory.  This  battle  was  notable  for  the  cowardice  of  the 
greatest  nobles.  For  the  whole  mass  fell  into  such  a 
panic,  that  forty  of  the  bravest  of  the  Swedes  are  said 
to  have  turned  and  fled.  The  chief  of  these,  Starkad,  had 
been  used  to  tremble  at  no  fortune,  however  cruel,  and 
no  danger,  however  great.  But  some  strange  terror  stole 
upon  him,  and  he  chose  to  follow  the  flight  of  his  friends 
rather  than  to  despise  it.  I  should  think  that  he  was 
filled  with  this  alarm  by  the  power  of  heaven,  that  he 
might  not  think  himself  courageous  beyond  the  measure 
of  human  valour.  Thus  the  prosperity  of  mankind  is 
wont  ever  to  be  incomplete.  Then  all  these  warriors  em- 
braced the  service  of  King  Hakon,  the  mightiest  of  the 
rovers,  like  remnants  of  the  war  drifting  to  him. 

After  this  Siwald  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Sigar,  who 
had  sons  Siwald,  Alf,  and  Alger,  and  a  daughter  Signe. 
Alf  excelled  the  rest  in  spirit  and  beauty,  and  devoted 

427 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

himself  to  the  business  of  a  rover.  Such  a  grace  was 
shed  on  his  hair,  which  had  a  wonderful  dazzling  glow, 
that  his  locks  seemed  to  shine  silvery.  At  the  same  time 
Siward,  the  king  of  the  Goths,  is  said  to  have  had  two 
sons,  Wemund  and  Osten,  and  a  daughter  Alfhild,  who 
showed  almost  from  her  cradle  such  faithfulness  to 
modesty  that  she  continually  kept  her  face  muffled  in  her 
robe,  lest  she  should  cause  her  beauty  to  provoke  the 
passion  of  another.  Her  father  banished  her  into  very 
close  keeping,  and  g^ve  her  a  viper  and  a  snake  to  rear, 
wishing  to  defend  her  chastity  by  the  protection  of  these 
reptiles  when  they  came  to  grow.  up.  For  it  would  have 
been  hard  to  pry  into  her  chamber  when  it  was  barred 
by  so  dangerous  a  bolt.  He  also  enacted  that  if  any  man 
tried  to  enter  it,  and  failed,  he  must  straightway  yield 
his  head  to  be  taken  off  and  impaled  on  a  stake.  The 
terror  which  was  thus  attached  to  wantonness  chastened 
the  heated  spirits  of  the  young  men. 

Alf,  the  son  of  Sigar,  thinking  that  peril  of  the  attempt 
only  made  it  nobler,  declared  himself  a  wooer,  and  went  to 
subdue  the  beasts  that  kept  watch  beside  the  room  of  the 
maiden ;  inasmuch  as,  according  to  the  decree,  the  em- 
braces of  the  maiden  were  the  prize  of  their  subduer. 
Alf  covered  his  body  with  a  blood-stained  hide  in  order 
to  make  them  more  frantic  against  him.  Girt  with  this, 
as  soon  as  he  had  entered  the  doors  of  the  enclosure,  he 
took  a  piece  of  red-hot  steel  in  the  tongs,  and  plunged  it 
into  the  yawning  throat  of  the  viper,  w^hich  he  laid  dead. 
Then  he  flung  his  spear  full  into  the  gaping  mouth  of  the 
snake  as  it  wound  and  writhed  forward,  and  destroyed  it. 

428 


BOOK  SEVEN 

And  when  he  demanded  the  gage  which  was  attached  to 
victory  by  the  terms  of  the  covenant,  Siward  answered 
that  he  would  accept  that  man  only  for  his  daughter's 
husband  of  whom  she  made  a  free  and  decided  choice. 
None  but  the  girl's  mother  was  stiff  against  the  wooer's 
suit ;  and  she  privately  spoke  to  her  daughter  in  order  to 
search  her  mind.  The  daughter  warmly  praised  her 
suitor  for  his  valour;  whereon  the  mother  upbraided  her 
sharply,  that  her  chastity  should  be  unstrimg,  and  she  be 
captivated  by  charming  looks ;  and  because,  forgetting  to 
judge  his  virtue,  she  cast  the  gaze  of  a  wanton  mind 
upon  the  flattering  lures  of  beauty.  Thus  Alfhild  was 
led  to  despise  the  young  Dane ;  w  hereupon  she  exchanged 
woman's  for  man's  attire,  and,  no  longer  the  most  modest 
of  maidens,  began  the  life  of  a  warlike  rover. 

Enrolling  in  her  service  many  maidens  who  were  of 
the  same  mind,  she  happened  to  come  to  a  spot  where  a 
band  of  rovers  were  lamenting  the  death  of  their  captain, 
who  had  been  lost  in  war;  they  made  her  their  rover- 
captain  for  her  beauty,  and  she  did  deeds  beyond  the 
valour  of  w^oman.  Alf  made  many  toilsome  voyages  in 
pursuit  of  her,  and  in  winter  happened  to  come  on  a  fleet 
of  the  Blacmen.  The  waters  were  at  this  time  frozen 
hard,  and  the  ships  were  caught  in  such  a  mass  of  ice 
that  they  could  not  get  on  by  the  most  violent  rowing. 
But  the  continued  frost  promised  the  prisoners  a  safer 
way  of  advance;  and  Alf  ordered  his  men  to  try  the 
frozen  surface  of  the  sea  in  their  brogues,  after  they  had 
taken  off  their  slippery  shoes,  so  that  they  could  nm  over 
the  level  ice  more  steadily.     The  Blacmen  supposed  that 

429 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

they  were  taking  to  flight  with  all  the  nimbleness  of  their 
heels,  and  began  to  fight  them,  but  their  steps  tottered 
exceedingly  and  they  gave  back,  the  slippery  surface  under 
their  soles  making  their  footing  uncertain.  But  the  Danes 
crossed  the  frozen  sea  with  safer  steps,  and  foiled  the 
feeble  advance  of  the  enemy,  whom  they  conquered,  and 
then  turned  and  sailed  to  Finland.  Here  they  chanced  to 
enter  a  rather  narrow  gulf,  and,  on  sending  a  few  men 
to  reconnoitre,  they  learnt  that  the  harbour  was  being 
held  by  a  few  ships.  For  Alfhild  had  gone  before  them 
with  her  fleet  into  the  same  narrows.  And  when  she  saw 
the  strange  ships  afar  off,  she  rowed  in  swift  haste  for- 
ward to  encounter  them,  thinking  it  better  to  attack  the 
foe  than  to  await  them.  Alf's  men  were  against  attack- 
ing so  many  ships  with  so  few;  but  he  replied  that  it 
would  be  shameful  if  anyone  should  report  to  Alfhild  that 
his  desire  to  advance  could  be  checked  by  a  few 
ships  in  the  path ;  for  he  said  that  their  record  of  honours 
ought  not  to  be  tarnished  by  such  a  trifle. 

The  Danes  wondered  whence  their  enemies  got  such 
grace  of  bodily  beauty  and  such  supple  limbs.  So,  when 
they  began  the  sea-fight,  the  young  man  Alf  leapt  on 
Alfhild's  prow,  and  advanced  towards  the  stern, 
slaughtering  all  that  withstood  him.  His  comrade  Bor- 
gar  struck  off  Alfhild's  helmet,  and,  seeing  the  smooth- 
ness of  her  chin,  saw  that  he  must  fight  with  kisses  and 
not  with  arms;  that  the  cruel  spears  must  be  put  away, 
and  the  enemy  handled  with  gentler  dealings.  So  Alf 
rejoiced  that  the  woman  whom  he  had  sought  over  land 
and  sea  in  the  face  of  so  many  dangers  was  now  beyond 

430 


500a:  seven 

all  expectation  in  his  power;  whereupon  he  took  hold  of 
her  eagerly,  and  made  her  change  her  man's  apparel 
for  a  woman's;  and  afterwards  begot  on  her  a  daughter, 
Gurid.  Also  Borgar  wedded  the  attendant  of  Alfhild, 
Groa,  and  had  by  her  a  son,  Harald,  to  whom  the  follow- 
ing age  gave  the  surname  Hyldetand. 

And  that  no  one  may  wonder  that  this  sex  laboured 
at  warfare,  I  will  make  a  brief  digression,  in  order  to  give 
a  short  account  of  the  estate  and  character  of  such 
women.  There  were  once  women  among  the  Danes  who 
dressed  themselves  to  look  like  men,  and  devoted  almost 
every  instant  of  their  lives  to  the  pursuit  of  war,  that 
they  might  not  suffer  their  valour  to  be  unstrung  or 
dulled  by  the  infection  of  luxury.  For  they  abhorred 
all  dainty  living,  and  used  to  harden  their  minds  and 
bodies  with  toil  and  endurance.  They  put  away  'all  the 
softness  and  lightmindedness  of  women,  and  inured  their 
womanish  spirit  to  masculine  nithlessness.  They  sought, 
moreover,  so  zealously  to  be  skilled  in  warfare,  that  they 
might  have  been  thought  to  have  unsexed  themselves. 
Those  especially,  who  had  either  force  of  character  or 
tall  and  comely  persons,  used  to  enter  on  this  kind  of  life. 
These  women,  therefore  (just  as  if  they  had  forgotten 
their  natural  estate,  and  preferred  sternness  to  soft 
words),  offered  war  rather  than  kisses,  and  would  rather 
taste  blood  than  busses,  and  went  about  the  business  of 
arms  more  than  that  of  amours.  They  devoted  those  * 
hands  to  the  lance  which  they  should  rather  have  applied 
to  the  loom.  They  assailed  men  with  their  spears  whom 
they  could  have  melted  with  their  looks,  they  thought  of 

431 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

death  and  not  of  dalliance.    Now  I  will  cease  to  wander, 
and  will  go  back  to  my  theme. 

In  the  early  spring,  Alf  and  Alger,  who  had  gone  back 
to  sea-roving,  were  exploring  the  sea  in  various  direc- 
tions, when  they  lighted  with  a  hundred  ships  upon  Hel- 
win,  Hagbard,  and  Hamund,  sons  of  the  kinglet  Hamund. 
These  they  attacked  and  only  the  twilight  stayed  their 
blood-wearied  hands;  and  in  the  night  the  soldiers  were 
ordered  to  keep  truce.  On  the  morrow  this  was  ratified 
for  good  by  a  mutual  oath ;  for  such  loss  had  been  suf- 
fered on  both  sides  in  the  battle  of  the  day  before  that 
they  had  no  force  left  to  fight  again.  Thus,  exhausted 
by  equality  of  valour,  they  were  driven  perforce  to  make 
peace.  About  the  same  time  Hildigisl,  a  Teuton  of  noble 
birth,  relying  on  his  looks  and  his  rank,  sued  for  Signe, 
the  daughter  of  Sigar.  But  she  scorned  him,  chiefly  for 
his  insignificance,  inasmuch  as  he  was  not  brave,  but 
wished  to  adorn  his  fortunes  with  the  courage  of  other 
people.  But  this  woman  was  inclined  to  love  Hakon, 
chiefly  for  the  high  renown  of  his  great  deeds.  For  she 
thought  more  of  the  brave  than  the  feeble;  she  admired 
notable  deeds  more  than  looks,  knowing  that  every  allure- 
ment of  beauty  is  mere  dross  when  reckoned  against 
simple  valour,  and  cannot  weigh  equal  with  it  in  the 
balance.  For  there  are  maids  that  are  more  charmed  by 
the  fame  than  by  the  face  of  their  lovers;  who  go  not 
by  the  looks,  but  by  the  mind,  and  whom  naught  but 
regard  for  a  man's  spirit  can  kindle  to  pledge  their  own 
troth.  Now  Hagbard,  going  to  Denmark  with  the  sons 
of  Sigar,  gained  speech  of  their    sister    without    their 

432 


BOOK  SEVEN 

knowledge,  and  in  the  end  induced  her  to  pledge  her 
word  to  him  that  she  would  secretly  become  his  mistress. 
Afterwards,  when  the  waiting-women  happened  to  be 
comparing  the  honourable  deeds  of  the  nobles,  she  pre- 
ferred Hakon  to  Hildigisl.  declaring  that  the  latter  had 
nothing  to  praise  but  his  looks,  while  in  the  case  of  the 
other  a  wrinkled  visage  was  outweighed  by  a  choice 
spirit.  Not  content  with  this  plain  kind  of  praise,  she 
is  said  to  have  sung  as  follows : 

"This  man  lacks  fairness,  but  shines  with  foremost 
courage,  measuring  his  features  by  his  force. 

"For  the  lofty  soul  redeems  the  shortcoming  of  harsh 
looks,  and  conquers  the  body's  blemish. 

"His  look  flashes  with  spirit,  his  face,  notable  in  its 
very  harshness,  delights  in  fierceness. 

"He  who  strictly  judges  character  praises  not  the 
mind  for  the  fair  hue,  but  rather  the  complexion  for 
the   mind. 

"This  man  is  not  prized  for  beauty,  but  for  brave 
daring  and  war-won  honour. 

"While  the  other  is  commended  by  his  comely  head 
and  radiant  countenance  and  crest  of  lustrous  locks. 

"Vile  is  the  empty  grace  of  beauty,  self-confounded 
the  deceptive  pride  of  comeliness. 

"Valour  and  looks  are  swayed  by  different  inclina- 
tions :  one  lasts  on,  the  other  perishes. 

"Empty  red  and  white  brings  in  vice,  and  is  frittered 
away  little  by  little  by  the  lightly  gliding  years ; 

"But  courage  plants  firmer  the  hearts  devoted  to  it, 
and  does  not  slip  and  straightway  fall. 

433 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

*'The  voice  of  the  multitude  is  beguiled  by  outward 
good,  and  forsakes  the  rule  of  right ; 

*'But  I  praise  virtue  at  a  higher  rate,  and  scorn  the 
grace  of  comeliness." 

This  utterance  fell  on  the  ears  of  the  bystanders  in 
such  a  way,  that  they  thought  she  praised  Hagbard  under 
the  name  of  Hakon.  And  Hildigisl,  vexed  that  she  pre- 
ferred Hagbard  to  himself,  bribed  a  certain  blind  man, 
Bolwis,  to  bring  the  sons  of  Sigar  and  the  sons  of  Ham- 
und  to  turn  their  friendship  into  hatred.  For  King 
Sigar  had  been  used  to  transact  almost  all  affairs  by  the 
advice  of  two  old  men,  one  of  whom  was  Bolwis.  The 
temper  of  these  two  men  was  so  different,  that  one  used 
to  reconcile  folk  who  were  at  feud,  while  the  other  loved 
to  sunder  in  hatred  those  who  were  bound  by  friendship, 
and  by  estranging  folk  to  fan  pestilent  quarrels. 

So  Bolwis  began  by  reviling  the  sons  of  Hamund  to 
the  sons  of  Sigar,  in  lying  slanders,  declaring  that  they 
never  used  to  preserve  the  bonds  of  fellowship  loyally, 
and  that  they  must  be  restrained  by  war  rather  than  by 
league.  Thus  the  alliance  of  the  young  men  was  broken 
through ;  and  while  Hagbard  was  far  away,  the  sons  of 
Sigar,  Alf  and  Alger,  made  an  attack,  and  Helwin  and 
Hamund  were  destroyed  by  the  harbour  which  is  called 
Hamund's  Bay.  Hagbard  then  came  up  with  fresh  forces 
to  avenge  his  brothers,  and  destroyed  them  in  battle. 
Hildigisl  slunk  off  with  a  spear  through  both  buttocks, 
which  was  the  occasion  for  a  jeer  at  the  Teutons,  since 
the  ugliness  of  the  blow  did  not  fail  to  brand  it  with  dis- 
grace. 

434 


BOOK  SEVEN 

Afterwards  Hagbard  dressed  himself  in  woman's 
attire,  and,  as  though  he  had  not  wronged  Sigar's 
daughter  by  slaying  her  brothers,  went  back  to  her  alone, 
trusting  in  the  promise  he  had  from  her,  and  feeling  more 
safe  in  her  loyalty  than  alarmed  by  reason  of  his  own 
misdeed.  Thus  does  lust  despise  peril.  And,  not  to  lack 
a  pretext  for  his  journey,  he  gave  himself  out  as  a  fighting- 
maid  of  Hakon,  saying  that  he  took  an  embassy  from 
him  to  Sigar.  And  when  he  was  taken  to  bed  at  night 
among  the  handmaids,  and  the  woman  who  washed  his 
feet  were  wiping  them,  they  asked  him  why  he  had  such 
hairy  legs,  and  why  his  hands  were  not  at  all  soft  to 
touch,  he  answered : 

"What  wonder  that  the  soft  hollow  of  my  foot  should 
harden,  and  that  long  hairs  should  stay  on  my  shaggy  leg, 
when  the  sand  has  so  often  smitten  my  soles  beneath,  and 
the  briars  have  caught  me  in  mid-step? 

"Now^  I  scour  the  forest  with  leaping,  now  the  waters 
with  running.  Now  the  sea,  now  the  earth,  now  the  wave 
is  my  path. 

"Nor  could  my  breast,  shut  in  bonds  of  steel,  and 
wont  to  be  beaten  with  lance  and  missile,  ever  have  been 
soft  to  the  touch,  as  with  you  who  are  covered  by  the 
mantle  or  the  smooth  gown. 

"Not  the  distaff  or  the  wool-frails,  but  spears  dripping 
from  the  slaughter,  have  served  for  our  handling." 

Signe  did  not  hesitate  to  back  up  his  words  with  like 
dissembling,  and  replied  that  it  was  natural  that  hands 
which  dealt  more  in  wounds  than  wools,  and  in  battle 
than  in  tasks  of  the  house  should  show  the  hardness  that 

435 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

befitted  their  service;  and  that,  iinenfeebled  with  the 
pHable  softness  of  women,  they  should  not  feel  smooth  to 
the  touch  of  others.  For  they  were  hardened  partly 
by  the  toils  of  war,  partly  by  the  habit  of  seafaring.  For, 
said  she,  the  warlike  handmaid  of  Hakon  did  not  deal  in 
woman's  business,  but  had  been  wont  to  bring  her  right 
hand  blood-stained  with  hurling  spears  and  flinging 
missiles.  It  was  no  wonder,  therefore,  if  her  soles  were 
hardened  by  the  immense  journeys  she  had  gone;  and 
that,  when  the  shores  she  had  scoured  so  often  had  bruised 
them  with  their  rough  and  broken  shingle,  they  should 
toughen  in  a  horny  stiffness,  and  should  not  feel  soft 
to  the  touch  like  theirs,  whose  steps  never  strayed,  but 
who  were  forever  cooped  within  the  confines  of  the 
palace.  Hagbard  received  her  as  his  bedfellow,  under 
plea  that  he  was  to  have  the  couch  of  honour ;  and,  amid 
their  converse  of  mutual  delight,  he  addressed  her  slowly 
in  such  words  as  these : 

"If  thy  father  takes  me  and  gives  me  to  bitter  death, 
wilt  thou  ever,  when  I  am  dead,  forget  so  strong  a  troth, 
and  again  seek  the  marriage-plight? 

"For  if  the  chance  should  fall  that  way,  I  can  hope  for 
no  room  for  pardon ;  nor  will  the  father  who  is  to  avenge 
his  sons  spare  or  have  pity. 

"For  I  stripped  thy  brothers  of  their  power  on  the  sea 
and  slew  them;  and  now,  unknown  to  thy  father,  as 
though  I  had  done  naught  before  counter  to  his  will,  I 
hold  thee  in  the  couch  we  share. 

"Say,  then,  my  one  love,  what  manner  of  wish  wilt 
thou  show  when  thou  lackest  the  accustomed  embrace?" 

436 


BOOK  SEVEN 

Signe  answered : 

"Trust  me,  dear;  I  wish  to  die  with  thee,  if  fate  brings 
thy  turn  to  perish  first,  and  not  to  prolong  my  span  of 
life  at  all,  when  once  dismal  death  has  cast  thee  to  the 
tomb. 

"For  if  thou  chance  to  close  thy  eyes  for  ever,  a  victim 
to  the  maddened  attack  of  the  men-at-arms ; — by  whatso- 
ever doom  thy  breath  be  cut  off,  by  sword  or  disease,  by 
sea  or  soil,  I  forswear  every  wanton  and  corrupt  flame, 
and  vow  myself  to  a  death  like  thine;  that  they  who  were 
bound  by  one  marriage-union  may  be  embraced  in  one 
and  the  same  punishment.  Nor  will  I  quit  this  man, 
though  I  am  to  feel  the  pains  of  death ;  I  have  resolved  he 
is  worthy  of  my  love  who  gathered  the  first  kisses  of  my 
mouth,  and  had  the  first  fruits  of  my  delicate  youth.  I 
think  that  no  vow  will  be  surer  than  this,  if  speech  of 
woman  have  any  loyalty  at  all." 

This  speech  so  quickened  the  spirit  of  Hagbard.  that 
he  found  more  pleasure  in  her  promise  than  peril  in  his 
own  going  away  (to  his  death).  The  ser\'ing-women 
betrayed  him;  and  when  Sigar's  men-at-arms  attacked 
him,  he  defended  himself  long  and  stubbornly,  and  slew 
many  of  them  in  the  doorway.  But  at  last  he  was  taken, 
and  brought  before  the  assembly,  and  found  the  voices 
of  the  people  divided  over  him.  For  very  many  said 
that  he  should  be  punished  for  so  great  an  offence ;  but 
Bilwis,  the  brother  of  Bolwis,  and  others,  conceived  a 
better  judgment,  and  advised  that  it  would  be  better  to 
use  his  stout  service  than  to  deal  with  him  too  ruthlessly. 

Then  Bolwis  came  forward  and  declared  that  it  was  evil 

10  437 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

advice  which  urged  the  king  to  pardon  when  he  ought  to 
take  vengeance,  and  to  soften  with  unworthy  compassion 
his  righteous  impulse  to  anger.  For  how  could  Sigar, 
in  the  case  of  this  man,  feel  any  desire  to  spare  or  pity 
him,  when  he  had  not  only  robbed  him  of  the  double 
comfort  of  his  sons,  but  had  also  bestained  him  with  the 
insult  of  deflowering  his  daughter?  The  greater  part 
of  the  assembly  voted  for  this  opinion;  Hagbard  was 
condemned,  and  a  gallows-tree  planted  to  receive  him. 
Hence  it  came  about  that  he  who  at  first  had  hardly  one 
sinister  voice  against  him  was  punished  with  general 
harshness.  Soon  after  the  queen  handed  him  a  cup,  and, 
bidding  him  assuage  his  thirst,  vexed  him  with  threats 
after  this  manner: 

"Now,  insolent  Hagbard,  whom  the  whole  assembly 
has  pronounced  worthy  of  death,  now  to  quench  thy 
thirst  thou  shalt  give  thy  lips  liquor  to  drink  in  a  cup 
of  horn, 

"Wherefore  cast  away  fear,  and,  at  this  last  hour  of  thy 
life,  taste  with  bold  lips  the  deadly  goblet; 

"That,  having  drunk  it,  thou  mayst  presently  land  by 
the  dwellings  of  those  below,  passing  into  the  sequestered 
palace  of  stern  Dis,  giving  thy  body  to  the  gibbet  and  thy 
spirit  to  Orcus." 

Then  the  young  man  took  the  cup  offered  him,  and  is 
said  to  have  made  answer  as  follows : 

"With  this  hand,  wherewith  I  cut  off  thy  twin  sons,  I 
will  take  my  last  taste,  yea  the  draught  of  the  last  drink. 

"Now  not  unavenged  shall  I  go  to  the  Elysian  regions, 
not  unchastising  to  the   stern  ghosts.     For  these  men 

438 


BOOK  SEVEN 

have  first  been  shut  in  the  dens  of  Tartarus  by  a  slaughter 
wrought  by  my  endeavours.  This  right  hand  was  wet 
with  blood  that  was  yours,  this  hand  rol)bed  thy  children 
of  the  years  of  their  youth,  children  whom  thy  womb 
brought  to  light ;  but  the  deadly  sword  spared  it  not  then. 
Infamous  woman,  raving  in  spirit,  hapless,  childless 
mother,  no  years  shall  restore  to  thee  the  lost,  no  time  and 
no  day  whatsoever  shall  save  thy  child  from  the  stark- 
ness  of  death,  or  redeem  him!" 

Thus  he  avenged  the  queen's  threats  of  death  by  taunt- 
ing her  with  the  youths  whon-k  he  had  slain ;  and,  flinging 
back  the  cup  at  her,  drenched  her  face  with  the  sprinkled 
wine. 

]Meantime  Signe  asked  her  weeping  women  whether 
they  could  endure  to  bear  her  company  in  the  things 
w^hich  she  purposed.  They  promised  that  they  would 
carry  out  and  perform  themselves  whatsoever  their  mis- 
tress should  come  to  wish,  and  their  promise  was  loyally 
kept.  Then,  drowned  in  tears,  she  said  that  she  wished 
to  follow  in  death  the  only  partner  of  her  bed  that  she  had 
ever  had ;  and  ordered  that,  as  soon  as  the  signal  had  been 
given  from  a  place  of  watch,  torches  should  be  put  to  the 
room,  then  that  halters  should  be  made  out  of  their  robes; 
and  to  these  they  should  proffer  their  throats  to  be 
strangled,  thrusting  away  the  support  to  the  feet.  They 
agreed,  and  that  they  might  blench  the  less  at  death,  she 
gave  them  a  draught  of  wine.  After  this  Hagbard  was 
led  to  the  hill,  which  afterwards  took  its  name  from  him,  to 
be  hanged.  Then,  to  test  the  loyalty  of  his  true  love,  he 
told  the  executioners  to  hang  up  his  mantle,  saying  that 

439 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

it  would  be  a  pleasure  to  him  if  he  could  see  the  likeness 
of  his  approaching  death  rehearsed  in  some  way.  The 
request  was  granted ;  and  the  watcher  on  the  outlook, 
thinking  that  the  thing  was  being  done  to  Hagbard, 
reported  what  she  saw  to  the  maidens  who  were  shut 
within  the  palace.  They  quickly  fired  the  house,  and 
thrusting  away  the  wooden  support  under  their  feet,  gave 
their  necks  to  the  noose  to  be  writhen.  So  Hagbard, 
when  he  saw  the  palace  wrapped  in  fire,  and  the  familiar 
chamber  blazing,  said  that  he  felt  more  joy  from  the 
loyalty  of  his  mistress  than  sorrow  at  his  approaching 
death.  He  also  charged  the  bystanders  to  do  him  to  death, 
witnessing  how  little  he  made  of  his  doom  by  a  song 
like  this: 

"Swiftly,  O  warriors!  let  me  be  caught  and  lifted  into 
the  air.  Sweet,  O  my  bride!  is  it  for  me  to  die  when 
thou  hast  gone. 

"I  perceive  the  crackling  and  the  house  ruddy  with 
flames ;  and  the  love,  long-promised,  declares  our  troth. 

"Behold,  thy  covenant  is  fulfilled  with  no  doubtful 
vows,  since  thou  sharest  my  life  and  my  destruction. 

"We  shall  have  one  end,  one  bond  after  our  troth,  and 
somewhere  our  first  love  will  live  on. 

"Happy  am  I,  that  have  deserved  to  have  joy  of  such 
a  consort,  and  not  to  go  basely  alone  to  the  gods  of 
Tartarus ! 

"Then  let  the  knot  gripe  the  midst  of  the  throat; 
nought  but  pleasure  the  last  doom  shall  bring, 

"Since  there  remains  a  sure  hope  of  the  renewal  of  love, 
and  a  death  which  will  soon  have  joys  of  its  own. 

440 


BOOK  SEVEN 

"Either  country  is  sweet ;  in  both  worlds  shall  be  held 
in  honour  the  repose  of  our  souls  together,  our  equal  truth 
in  love, 

"For,  see  now,  I  welcome  the  doom  before  me;  since 
not  even  among  the  shades  does  very  love  suffer  the 
embrace  of  its  partner  to  perish."  And  as  he  spoke  the 
executioners  strangled  him.  And,  that  none  may  think 
that  all  traces  of  anticjuity  have  utterly  disappeared,  a 
proof  of  the  aforesaid  event  is  afforded  by  local  marks  yet 
existing ;  for  the  killing  of  Hagbard  gave  his  name  to  the 
stead;  and  not  far  from  the  town  of  Sigar  there  is  a 
place  to  be  seen,  wdiere  a  mound  a  little  above  the  level, 
with  the  api^earance  of  a  swelling  in  the  ground,  looks 
like  an  ancient  homestead.  Moreover,  a  man  told  Absalon 
that  he  had  seen  a  beam  found  in  the  spot,  which  a  coun- 
tryman struck  with  his  ploughshare  as  he  burrowed  into 
the  clods. 

Hakon,  the  son  of  Hamund,  heard  of  this ;  but  when  he 
was  seen  to  be  on  the  point  of  turning  his  arms  from  the 
Irish  against  the  Danes  in  order  to  avenge  his  brother, 
Hakon  the  Zealander,  the  son  of  Wigar,  and  Starkad 
deserted  him.  They  had  been  his  allies  from  the  death  of 
Ragnald  up  to  that  hour :  one.  because  he  was  moved  by 
regard  for  friendship,  the  other  by  regard  for  his  birth ; 
so  that  different  reasons  made  both  desire  the  same  thing. 

Now  patriotism  diverted  Hakon  (of  Zealand)  from 
attacking  his  country;  for  it  was  apparent  that  he  was 
going  to  fight  his  own  people,  while  all  the  rest  warred 
w  ith  foreigners.  But  Starkad  forly>re  to  become  the  foe 
of  the  aged  Sigar,  whose  hospitality  he  had  enjoyed,  lest 

441 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

he  should  be  thought  to  wrong  one  who  deserved  w^ell  of 
him.  For  some  men  pay  such  respect  to  hospitaHty  that,  if 
they  can  remember  ever  to  have  experienced  kindly  offices 
from  folk,  they  cannot  be  thought  to  inflict  any  annoyance 
on  them.  But  Hakon  thought  the  death  of  his  brother  a 
worse  loss  than  the  defection  of  his  champions;  and, 
gathering  his  fleet  into  the  haven  called  Herwig  in 
Danish,  and  in  Latin  Hosts'  Bight,  he  drew  up  his  men, 
and  posted  his  line  of  footsoldiers  in  the  spot  where  the 
town  built  by  Esbem  now  defends  with  its  fortifications 
those  who  dwell  hard  by,  and  repels  the  approach  of 
barbarous  savages.  Then  he  divided  his  forces  in  three, 
and  sent  on  two-thirds  of  his  ships,  appointing  a  few  men 
to  row  to  the  river  Susa.  This  force  was  to  advance  on 
a  dangerous  voyage  along  its  winding  reaches,  and  to 
help  those  on  foot  if  necessary.  He  marched  in  person 
by  land  with  the  remainder,  advancing  chiefly  over 
wooded  country  to  escape  notice.  Part  of  this  path, 
which  was  once  closed  up  with  thick  woods,  is  now  land 
ready  for  the  plough,  and  fringed  with  a  scanty  scrub. 
And,  in  order  that  when  they  got  out  into  the  plain  they 
might  not  lack  the  shelter  of  trees,  he  told  them  to  cut  and 
carry  branches.  Also,  that  nothing  might  burden  their 
rapid  march,  he  bade  them  cast  away  some  of  their 
clothes,  as  wcW  as  their  scabbards,  and  carry  their  swords 
naked.  In  memory  of  this  event  he  left  the  mountain 
and  the  ford  a  perpetual  name.  Thus  by  his  night 
march  he  eluded  two  pickets  of  sentries ;  but  when  he  came 
upon  the  third,  a  scout,  observing  the  marvellous  event, 
went  to   the   sleeping-room  of  Sigar,   saying  that      he 

442 


BOOK  SEVEN 

brought  news  of  a  portentous  thing;  for  he  saw  leaves 
and  shrubs  Hke  men  walking.  Then  the  king  asked  him 
how  far  off  was  the  advancing  forest ;  and  when  he  heard 
that  it  was  near,  he  added  that  this  prodigy  boded  his 
own  death.  Hence  the  marsh  where  the  shrubs  were  cut 
down  was  styled  in  common  parlance  Deadly  Marsh. 
Therefore,  fearing  the  narrow  passages,  he  left  the  town, 
and  went  to  a  level  spot  which  was  more  open,  there  to 
meet  the  enemy  in  battle.  Sigar  fought  unsuccessfully, 
and  was  crushed  and  slain  at  the  spot  that  is  called  in 
common  speech  Walbrunna,  but  in  Latin  the  Spring  of 
Corpses  or  Carnage.  Then  Hakon  used  his  conquest  to 
cruel  purpose,  and  followed  up  his  good  fortune  so 
wickedly,  that  he  lusted  for  an  indiscriminate  massacre, 
and  thought  no  forbearance  should  be  shown  to  rank  or 
sex.  Nor  did  he  yield  to  any  regard  for  compassion  or 
shame,  but  stained  his  sword  in  the  blood  of  women,  and 
attacked  mothers  and  children  in  one  general  and  ruthless 
slaughter. 

SiWALD,  the  son  of  Sigar,  had  thus  far  stayed  under 
his  father's  roof.  But  when  he  heard  of  this,  he  mus- 
tered an  army  in  order  to  have  his  vengeance.  So  Hakon, 
alarmed  at  the  gathering  of  such  numbers,  went  back  with 
a  third  of  his  army  to  his  fleet  at  Herwig,  and  planned  to 
depart  by  sea.  But  his  colleague,  Hakon,  surnamed  the 
Proud,  thought  that  he  ought  himself  to  feel  more  confi- 
dence at  the  late  victory  than  fear  at  the  absence  of 
Hakon;  and,  preferring  death  to  flight,  tried  to  defend 
the  remainder  of  the  army.  So  he  drew  back  his  camp 
for  a  little,  and  for  a  long  time  waited  near  the  town  of 

443 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

Axelsted,  for  the  arrival  of  the  fleet,  blaming  his  friends 
for  their  tardy  coming.  '  For  the  fleet  that  had  been  sent 
into  the  river  had  not  yet  come  to  anchor  in  the  appointed 
harbour.  Now  the  killing  of  Sigar  and  the  love  of 
Siwald  were  stirring  the  temper  of  the  people  one  and 
all,  so  that  both  sexes  devoted  themselves  to  war,  and 
you  would  have  thought  that  the  battle  did  not  lack  the 
aid  of  women. 

On  the  morrow  Hakon  and  Siwald  met  in  an 
encounter  and  fought  two  whole  days.  The  combat 
was  most  frightful ;  both  generals  fell ;  and  victory  graced 
the  remnants  of  the  Danes.  But,  in  the  night  after  the 
battle,  the  fleet,  having  penetrated  the  Susa,  reached  the 
appointed  haven.  It  was  once  possible  to  row  along  this 
river;  but  its  bed  is  now  choked  with  solid  substances, 
and  is  so  narrowed  by  its  straits  that  few  vessels  can  get 
in,  being  prevented  by  its  sluggishness  and  contractedness. 
At  daybreak,  when  the  sailors  saw  the  corpses  of  their 
friends,  they  heaped  up,  in  order  to  bury  the  general,  a 
barrow  of  notable  size,  which  is  famous  to  this  day, 
and  is  commonly  named  Hakon's  Howe. 

But  Borgar,  with  Skanian  chivalry  suddenly  came  up 
and  slaughtered  a  multitude  of  them.  When  the  enemy 
were  destroyed,  he  manned  their  ships,  which  now  lacked 
their  rowers,  and  hastily,  with  breathless  speed,  pursued 
the  son  of  Hamund.  He  encountered  him,  and  ill-for- 
tune befell  Hakon,  who  fled  in  hasty  panic  with  three 
ships  to  the  country  of  the  Scots,  where,  after  two  years 
had  gone  by,  he  died. 

All  these  perilous  wars  and  fortunes  had  so  exhausted 

444 


BOOK  SEVEN 

the  royal  line  among  the  Danes,  that  it  was  found  to  be 
reduced  to  Gurid  alone,  the  daughter  of  Alf,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Sigar.  And  when  the  Danes  saw  themselves 
deprived  of  their  usual  high-bom  sovereigns,  they  com- 
mitted the  kingdom  to  men  of  the  people,  and  appointed 
rulers  out  of  the  commons,  assigning  to  Ostmar  the 
regency  of  Skaane,  and  that  of  Zealand  to  Hunding;  on 
Hane  they  conferred  the  lordship  of  Funen ;  while  in  the 
hands  of  Rorik  and  Hather  they  put  the  supreme  power 
of  Jutland,  the  authority  being  divided.  Therefore,  that 
it  may  not  be  unknown  from  what  father  sprang  the 
succeeding  line  of  kings,  some  matters  come  to  my  mind 
which  must  be  glanced  at  for  a  while  in  a  needful 
digression. 

They  say  that  Gunnar,  the  bravest  of  the  Swedes, 
was  once  at  feud  with  Norway  for  the  most  w^eighty 
reasons,  and  that  he  was  granted  liberty  to  attack  it,  but 
that  he  turned  this  liberty  into  licence  by  the  greatest 
perils,  and  fell,  in  the  first  of  the  raids  he  planned,  upon 
the  district  of  Jather,  which  he  put  partly  to  the  sword 
and  partly  to  the  flames.  Forbearing  to  plunder,  he 
rejoiced  only  in  passing  through  the  paths  that  were 
covered  with  corpses,  and  the  blood-stained  ways.  Other 
men  used  to  abstain  from  bloodshed,  and  love  pillage  more 
than  slaughter;  but  he  preferred  bloodthirstiness  to  booty, 
and  liked  best  to  wreak  his  deadly  pleasure  by  slaughter- 
ing men,  His  cruelty  drove  the  islanders  to  forestall 
the  impending  danger  by  a  public  submission.  Moreover, 
Ragnald,  the  King  of  the  Northmen,  now  in  extreme  age. 
when  he  heard  how  the  tyrant  busied  himself,  had  a  cave 

445 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

made  and  shut  up  in  it  his  daughter  Drota,  giving  her  due 
attendance,  and  providing  her  maintenance  for  a  long 
time.  Also  he  committed  to  the  cave  some  swords  which 
had  been  adorned  with  the  choicest  smithcraft,  besides 
the  royal  household  gear;  so  that  he  might  not  leave  the 
enemy  to  capture  and  use  the  sword,  which  he  saw  that  he 
could  not  wield  himself.  And,  to  prevent  the  cave  being 
noticed  by  its  height,  he  levelled  the  hump  down  to  the 
firmer  ground.  Then  he  set  out  to  war ;  but  being  unable 
with  his  aged  limbs  to  go  down  into  battle,  he  leaned  on 
the  shoulders  of  his  escort  and  walked  forth  propped  by 
the  steps  of  others.  So  he  perished  in  the  battle,  where 
he  fought  with  more  ardour  than  success,  and  left  his 
country  a  sore  matter  for  shame. 

For  Gunnar,  in  order  to  punish  the  cowardice  of  the 
conquered  race  by  terms  of  extraordinary  baseness,  had 
a  dog  set  over  them  as  a  governor.  What  can  we  suppose 
to  have  been  his  object  in  this  action,  unless  it  were  to 
make  a  haughty  nation  feel  that  their  arrogance  was 
being  more  signally  punished  when  they  bowed  their 
stubborn  heads  before  a  yapping  hound  ?  To  let  no  insult 
be  lacking,  he  appointed  governors  to  look  after  public 
and  private  affairs  in  its  name ;  and  he  appointed  separate 
ranks  of  nobles  to  keep  continual  and  steadfast  watch  over 
it.  He  also  enacted  that  if  any  one  of  the  courtiers 
thought  it  contemptible  to  do  allegiance  to  their  chief,  and 
omitted  offering  most  respectful  homage  to  its  various 
goings  and  comings  as  it  ran  hither  and  thither,  he  should 
be  punished  with  loss  of  his  limbs.  Also  Gunnar  imposed 
on  the  nation  a  double  tribute,  one  to  be  paid  out  of  the 

446 


BOOK  SEVEN 

autumn  harvest,  the  other  in  the  spring.  Thus  he  burst 
the  bubble  conceit  of  the  Norwegians,  to  make  them  feel 
clearly  how  their  pride  was  gone,  when  they  saw  it  forced 
to  do  homage  to  a  dog. 

When  he  heard  that  the  king's  daughter  was  shut  up  in 
some  distant  hiding-place,  Gunnar  strained  his  wits  in 
every  nerve  to  track  her  out.  Hence,  while  he  was  him- 
self conducting  the  search  with  others,  his  doubtful  ear 
caught  the  distant  sound  of  a  subterranean  hum.  Then  he 
went  on  slowly,  and  recognized  a  human  voice  with  greater 
certainty.  He  ordered  the  ground  underfoot  to  be  dug 
down  to  the  solid  rock ;  and  when  the  cave  was  suddenly 
laid  open,  he  saw  the  winding  tunnels.  The  servants 
were  slain  as  they  tried  to  guard  the  now  uncovered 
entrance  to  the  cave,  and  the  girl  was  dragged  out  of  the 
hole,  together  with  the  booty  therein  concealed.  With 
great  foresight,  she  had  consigned  at  any  rate  her  father's 
swords  to  the  protection  of  a  more  secret  place.  Gunnar 
forced  her  to  submit  to  his  will,  and  she  bore  a  son 
Hildiger.  This  man  was  such  a  rival  to  his  father  in 
cruelty,  that  he  was  ever  thirsting  to  kill,  and  was  bent  on 
nothing  but  the  destruction  of  men,  panting  with  a  bound- 
less lust  for  bloodshed.  Outlawed  by  his  father  on  account 
of  his  unbearable  ruthlessness,  and  soon  after  presented  by 
Alver  with  a  government,  he  spent  his  whole  life  in  arms, 
visiting  his  neighlx>urs  with  wars  and  slaughters :  nor  did 
he,  in  his  estate  of  banishment,  relax  his  accustomed 
savagery  a  whit,  but  would  not  change  his  spirit  with  his 
habitation. 

Lleanwhile  Borgar,  finding  that  Gunnar  had  married 

447 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

Drota,  the  daughter  of  Ragnald,  by  violence,  took  from 
him  both  life  and  wife,  and  wedded  Drota  himself.  She 
was  not  an  unwilling  bride ;  she  thought  it  right  for  her 
to  embrace  the  avenger  of  her  parent.  For  the  daughter 
mourned  her  father,  and  could  never  bring  herself  to 
submit  with  any  pleasure  to  his  murderer.  This  woman 
and  Borgar  had  a  son  Half  dan,  who  through  all  his  early 
youth  was  believed  to  be  stupid,  but  whose  later  years 
proved  illustrious  for  the  most  glorious  deeds,  and  famous 
for  the  highest  qualities  that  can  grace  life.  Once,  when 
a  stripling,  he  mocked  in  boyish  fashion  at  a  champion  of 
noble  repute,  who  smote  him  with  a  buffet;  whereupon 
Half  dan  attacked  him  with  the  staff  he  was  carrying  and 
killed  him.  This  deed  was  an  omen  of  his  future  hon- 
ours ;  he  had  hitherto  been  held  in  scorn,  but  henceforth 
throughout  his  life  he  had  the  highest  honour  and  glory. 
The  affair,  indeed,  was  a  prophecy  of  the  greatness  of 
his  deeds  in  war. 

At  this  period,  Rothe,  a  Ruthenian  rover,  almost 
destroyed  our  country  with  his  rapine  and  cruelty.  His 
harshness  was  so  notable  that,  while  other  men  spared  their 
prisoners  utter  nakedness,  he  did  not  think  it  uncomely 
to  strip  of  their  coverings  even  the  privy  parts  of  their 
bodies;  wherefore  we  are  wont  to  this  day  to  call  all 
severe  and  monstrous  acts  of  rapine  Rothe-Ran  (Rothe's 
Robbery).  He  used  also  sometimes  to  inflict  the  follow- 
ing kind  of  torture:  Fastening  the  men's  right  feet 
firmly  to  the  earth,  he  tied  the  left  feet  to  boughs  for 
the  purpose  that  when  these  should  spring  back  the  body 
would    be    rent    asunder.      Hane,    Prince    of    Funen, 

448 


BOOK  SEVEN 

wishing  to  win  honour  and  glory,  tried  to  attack  this 
man  with  his  sea-forces,  but  took  to  flight  with  one 
attendant.  It  was  in  reproach  of  him  that  the  proverb 
arose:  "The  cock  (Hane)  fights  better  on  its  own  dung- 
hill." Then  Borgar,  who  could  not  bear  to  see  his 
countrymen  perishing  any  longer,  encountered  Rothe. 
Together  they  fought  and  together  they  perished.  It  is 
said  that  in  this  battle  Halfdan  was  sorely  stricken,  and 
was  for  some  time  feeble  with  the  wounds  he  had  received. 
One  of  these  was  inflicted  conspicuously  on  his  mouth,  and 
its  scar  was  so  manifest  that  it  remained  as  an  ojien  blotch 
when  all  the  other  wounds  were  healed ;  for  the  crushed 
portion  of  the  lip  was  so  ulcerated  by  the  swelling,  that 
the  flesh  would  not  grow  out  again  and  mend  the  noisome 
gash.  This  circumstance  fixed  on  him  a  most  insulting 
nickname,  .  ,  .  although  wounds  in  the  front  of  the  lx>dy 
commonly  bring  praise  and  not  ignominy.  So  spiteful 
a  colour  does  the  belief  of  the  vulgar  sometimes  put  upon 
men's  virtues. 

Meanwhile  Gurid,  the  daughter  of  Alf.  seeing  that  the 
royal  line  was  reduced  to  herself  alone,  and  having  no 
equal  in  birth  whom  she  could  marry,  proclaimed  a  vow 
imposing  chasity  on  herself,  thinking  it  better  to  have 
no  husband  than  to  take  one  from  the  commons.  More- 
over, to  escape  outrage,  she  guarded  her  room  with  a 
chosen  band  of  champions.  Once  Halfdan  happened  to 
come  to  see  her.  The  champions,  whose  brother  he  had 
himself  slain  in  his  boyhood,  were  away.  He  told  her 
that  she  ought  to  loose  her  virgin  zone,  and  exchange  her 
austere  chastity  for  deeds  of  love;  that  she  ought  not  to 

449 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

give  in  so  much  to  her  inclinatioii  for  modesty  as  to  be  too 
proud  to  make  a  match,  and  so  by  her  service  repair  the 
fallen  monarchy.  So  he  bade  her  look  on  himself,  who 
was  of  eminently  illustrious  birth,  in  the  light  of  a 
husband,  since  it  appeared  that  she  would  only  admit 
pleasure  for  the  reason  he  had  named.  Gurid  answered 
that  she  could  not  bring  her  mind  to  ally  the  remnants 
of  the  royal  line  to  a  man  of  meaner  rank.  Not  content 
with  reproaching  his  obscure  birth,  she  also  taunted  his 
unsightly  countenance.  Halfdan  rejoined  that  she 
brought  against  him  two  faults :  one  that  his  blood  was 
not  illustrious  enough;  another,  that  he  was  blemished 
with  a  cracked  lip  whose  scar  had  never  healed.  There- 
fore he  would  not  come  back  to  ask  for  her  before  he  had 
wiped  away  both  marks  of  shame  by  winning  glory  in 
w^ar. 

Halfdan  entreated  her  to  suffer  no  man  to  be  privy 
to  her  bed  until  she  heard  certain  tidings  either  of  his 
return  or  his  death.  The  champions,  whom  he  had 
bereaved  of  their  brother  long  ago,  were  angry  that  he  had 
spoken  to  Gurid,  and  tried  to  ride  after  him  as  he  went 
away.  When  he  saw  it,  he  told  his  comrades  to  go  into 
ambush,  and  said  he  would  encounter  the  champions  alone. 
His  followers  lingered,  and  thought  it  shameful  to  obey 
his  orders,  but  he  drove  them  off  with  threats,  saying 
that  Gurid  should  not  find  that  fear  had  made  him  refuse 
to  fight.  Presently  he  cut  down  an  oak-tree  and  fashioned 
it  into  a  club,  fought  the  twelve  single-handed,  and  killed 
them.  After  their  destruction,  not  content  with  the  hon- 
ours of  so  splendid  an  action,  and  meaning  to  do  one 

450 


BOOK  SEVEN 

yet  greater,  he  got  from  his  mother  the  swords  of  his 
grandfather,  one  of  which  was  called  Lyusing  .  .  .  and 
the  other  Hwyting,  after  the  sheen  of  its  well-whetted 
point.  But  when  he  heard  that  war  was  raging  between 
Alver,  the  King  of  Sweden,  and  the  Riithenians  (Rus- 
sians), he  instantly  went  to  Russia,  offered  help  to  the 
natives,  and  was  received  by  all  with  the  utmost  honour. 
Alver  was  not  far  off,  there  l^eing  only  a  little  ground  to 
cross  to  cover  the  distance  between  the  two.  Alver's 
soldier  Hildiger,  the  son  of  Gunnar,  challenged  the  cham- 
pions of  the  Ruthenians  to  fight  him;  but  when  he  saw 
that  Halfdan  was  put  up  against  him,  though  knowing 
well  that  he  was  Halfdan's  brother,  he  let  natural  feeling 
prevail  over  courage,  and  said  that  he,  who  was  famous 
for  the  destruction  of  seventy  champions,  would  not  fight 
with  an  untried  man.  Therefore  he  told  him  to  measure 
himself  in  enterprises  of  lesser  moment,  and  thenceforth 
to  follow  pursuits  fitted  to  his  strength.  He  made  this 
announcement  not  from  distrust  in  his  own  courage,  but 
in  order  to  preserve  his  uprightness ;  for  he  was  not  only 
very  valiant,  but  also  skilled  at  blunting  the  sword  with 
spells.  For  when  he  remembered  that  Halfdan's  father 
had  slain  his  own,  he  was  moved  by  two  feelings — the 
desire  to  avenge  his  father,  and  his  love  for  his  brother. 
He  therefore  thought  it  better  to  retire  from  the  chal- 
t  lenge  than  to  be  guilty  of  a  very  great  crime.  Halfdan 
demanded  another  champion  in  his  place,  slew  him  when 
he  appeared,  and  was  soon  awarded  the  palm  of  valour 
even  by  the  voice  of  the  enemy,  being  accounted  by  public 
acclam-ation  the  bravest  of  all.     On  the  next  day  he  asked 

451 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

for  two  men  to  fight  with,  and  slew  them  both.  On  the 
third  day  he  subdued  three;  on  the  fourth  he  overcame 
four  who  met  him;  and  on  the  fifth  he  asked  for  five. 

When  Half  dan  conquered  these,  and  when  the  eighth 
day  had  been  reached  with  an  equal  increase  in  the  combat- 
ants and  in  the  victory,  he  laid  low  eleven  who  attacked 
him  at  once.  Hildiger,  seeing  that  his  own  record  of  hon- 
ours was  equalled  by  the  greatness  of  Halfdan's  deeds 
could  not  bear  to  decline  to  meet  him  any  longer.  And 
when  he  felt  that  Half  dan  had  dealt  him  a  deadly  wound 
with  a  sword  wrapped  in  rags,  he  threw  away  his  arms, 
and,  lying  on  the  earth,  addressed  his  brother  as  follows : 

**It  is  pleasing  to  pass  an  hour  away  in  mutual  talk ; 
and,  while  the  sword  rests,  to  sit  a  little  on  the  ground 
and  while  away  the  time  by  speaking  in  turn,  and  keep 
ourselves  in  good  heart.  Time  is  left  for  our  purpose; 
our  two  destinies  have  a  different  lot;  one  is  surely 
doomed  to  die  by  a  fatal  weird,  while  triumph  and  glory 
and  all  the  good  of  living  await  the  other  in  better  years. 
Thus  our  omens  differ,  and  our  portions  are  distinguished. 
Thou  art  a  son  of  the  Danish  land,  I  of  the  country  of 
Sweden.  Once,  Drota  thy  mother  had  her  breast  swell 
for  thee ;  she  bore  me,  and  by  her  I  am  thy  foster-brother. 
Lo  now,  there  perishes  a  righteous  offspring,  who  had  the 
heart  to  fight  with  savage  spears;  brothers  born  of  a 
shining  race  charge  and  bring  death  on  one  another; 
while  they  long  for  the  height  of  power,  they  lose  their 
days,  and,  having  now  received  a  fatal  mischief  in  their 
desire  for  a  sceptre,  they  will  go  to  Styx  in  a  common 
death.      Fast   by  my   head    stands   my   Swedish   shield, 

452 


BOOK  SEVEN 

which  is  adorned  with  (as)  a  fresh  mirror  of  diverse 
chasing,  and  ringed  with  layers  of  marvellous  fretwork. 
There  a  picture  of  many  hues  shows  slain  nobles  and  con- 
quered champions,  and  the  wars  also  and  the  notable  deed 
of  my  right  hand.  In  the  midst  is  to  be  seen,  painted  in 
bright  relief,  the  figure  of  my  son,  whom  this  hand  bereft 
of  his  span  of  life.  He  was  our  only  heir,  the  only 
thought  of  his  father's  mind,  and  given  to  his  mother 
with  comfort  from  above.  An  evil  lot,  which  heaps 
years  of  ill-fortune  on  the  joyous,  chokes  mirth  in  mourn- 
ing, and  troubles  our  destiny.  For  it  is  lamentable  and 
wretched  to  drag  out  a  downcast  life,  to  draw  breath 
through  dismal  days  and  to  chafe  at  foreboding.  But 
whatsoever  things  are  bound  by  the  prophetic  order  of 
the  fates,  whatsoever  are  shadowed  in  the  secrets  of  the 
divine  plan,  whatsoever  are  foreseen  and  fixed  in  the 
course  of  the  destinies,  no  change  of  what  is  transient 
shall  cancel  these  things." 

When  he  had  thus  spoken.  Half  dan  condemned  Hildiger 
for  sloth  in  avowing  so  late  their  bond  of  brotherhood ;  he 
declared  he  had  kept  silence  that  he  might  not  be 
thought  a  coward  for  refusing  to  fight,  or  a  villain  if  he 
fought;  and  while  intent  on  these  words  of  excuse,  he 
died.  But  report  had  given  out  among  the  Danes  that 
Hildiger  had  overthrown  Halfdan.  After  this,  Siwar,  a  ^ 
Saxon  of  very  high  birth,  began  to  be  a  suitor  for  Gurid, 
the  only  survivor  of  the  royal  blood  among  the  Danes. 
Secretly  she  preferred  Halfdan  to  him,  and  imposed  on 
her  wooer  the  condition  that  he  should  not  ask  her  in 
marriage  till  he  had  united  into  one  body  the  kingdom  of 

U  453 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

the  Danes,  which  was  now  torn  limb  from,  limb,  and 
restored  by  arms  what  had  been  wrongfully  taken  from 
her.  Siwar  made  a  vain  attempt  to  do  this;  but  as  he 
bribed  all  the  guardians,  she  was  at  last  granted  to  him 
in  betrothal.  Halfdan  heard  of  this  in  Russia  through 
traders,  and  voyaged  so  hard  that  he  arrived  before  the 
time  of  the  wedding-rites.  On  their  first  day,  before  he 
went  to  the  palace,  he  gave  orders  that  his  men  should  not 
stir  from  the  watches  appointed  them  till  their  ears  caught 
the  clash  of  the  steel  in  the  distance.  Unknown  to  the 
guests,  he  came  and  stood  before  the  maiden,  and,  that  he 
might  not  reveal  his  meaning  to  too  many  by  bare  and 
common  speech,  he  composed  a  dark  and  ambigous  song 
as  follows: 

"As  I  left  my  father's  sceptre,  I  had  no  fear  of  the  wiles 
of  woman's  device  nor  of  female  subtlety. 

"When  I  overthrew  one  and  two,  three  and  four,  and 
soon  five,  and  next  six,  then  seven,  and  also  eight,  yea 
eleven  single-handed,  triumphant  in  battle. 

"But  neither  did  I  then  think  that  I  was  to  be  shamed 
with  the  taint  of  disgrace,  with  thy  frailness  to  thy  word 
and  thy  beguiling  pledges." 

Gurid  answered :  "My  soul  wavered  in  suspense,  with 
slender  power  over  events,  and  shifted  about  with  restless 
fickleness.  The  report  of  thee  was  so  fleeting,  so  doubt- 
ful, borne  on  uncertain  stories,  and  parched  by  doubting 
heart.  I  feared  that  the  years  of  thy  youth  had  perished 
by  the  sword.  Could  I  withstand  singly  my  elders  and 
governors,  when  they  forbade  me  to  refuse  that  thing, 
and  pressed  me  to  become  a  wife  ?     My  love  and  my  flame 

454 


BOOK  SEVEN 

are  both  yet  unchanged,  they  shall  be  mate  and  match  to 
thine;  nor  has  my  troth  been  disturbed,  but  shall  have 
faithful  approach  to  thee. 

"For  my  promise  has  not  yet  beguiled  thee  at  all, 
though  I,  being  alone,  could  not  reject  the  counsel  of 
such  manifold  persuasion,  nor  oppose  their  stern  bidding 
in  the  matter  of  my  consent  to  the  marriage  bond." 

Before  the  maiden  had  finished  her  answer,  Halfdan 
had  already  run  his  sword  through  the  bridegroom.  Not 
content  with  having  killed  one  man,  he  massacred  most  of 
the  guests.  Staggering  tipsily  backwards,  the  Saxons 
ran  at  him,  but  his  servants  came  up  and  slaughtered 
them.  After  this  HalFdan  took  Gurid  to  wife.  But 
finding  in  her  the  fault  of  barrenness,  and  desiring  much 
to  have  offspring,  he  went  to  Upsala  in  order  to  procure 
fruitfulness  for  her;  and  being  told  in  answer,  that  he 
must  make  atonement  to  the  shades  of  his  brother  if  he 
would  raise  up  children,  he  obeyed  the  oracle,  and  was 
comforted  by  gaining  his  desire.  For  he  had  a  son  by 
Gurid,  to  whom  he  gave  the  name  of  Harald.  Under  his 
title  Halfdan  tried  to  restore  the  kingdom  of  the  Danes  to 
its  ancient  estate,  as  it  was  torn  asunder  by  the  injuries  of 
the  chiefs;  but,  while  fighting  in  Zealand,  he  attacked 
Wesete,  a  very  famous  champion,  in  battle,  and  w-as 
slain.  Gurid  w^as  at  the  battle  in  man's  attire,  from  love 
for  her  son.  She  saw  the  event ;  the  young  man  fought 
hotly,  but  his  companions  fled;  and  she  took  him  on  her 
shoulders  to  a  neighbouring  wood.  Weariness,  more 
than  anything  else,  kept  the  enemy  from  pursuing  him; 
but  one  of  them  shot  him  as  he  hung,  with  an  arrow, 

.  455 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

through  the  hinder  parts,  and  Harald  thought  that  his 
mother's  care  brought  him  more  shame  than  help. 

Harald,  being  of  great  beauty  and  unusual  size,  and 
surpassing  those  of  his  age  in  strength  and  stature, 
received  such  favour  from  Odin  (whose  oracle  was 
thought  to  have  been  the  cause  of  his  birth),  that  steel 
could  not  injure  his  perfect  soundness.  The  result  was, 
that  shafts  which  wounded  others  were  disabled  from 
doing  him  any  harm.  Nor  was  the  boon  unrequited ;  for 
he  is  reported  to  have  promised  to  Odin  all  the  souls 
which  his  sword  cast  out  of  their  bodies.  He  also  had  his 
father's  deeds  recorded  for  a  memorial  by  craftsmen  on 
a  rock  in  Bleking,  whereof  I  have  made  mention. 

After  this,  hearing  that  Wesete  was  to  hold  his  wedding 
in  Skaane,  he  went  to  the  feast  disguised  as  a  beggar; 
and  when  all  were  sunken  in  wine  and  sleep,  he  battered 
the  bride-chamber  with  a  b^am.  But  Wesete,  without 
inflicting  a  wound,  so  beat  his  mouth  with  a  cudgel,  that 
he  took  out  two  teeth;  but  two  grinders  unexpectedly 
broke  out  afterwards  and  repaired  their  loss:  an  event 
which  earned  him  the  name  of  Hyldetand,  which  some 
declare  he  obtained  on  account  of  a  prominent  row  of 
teeth.  Here  he  slew  Wesete,  and  got  the  sovereignty  of 
Skaane.  Next  he  attacked  and  killed  Hather  in  Jutland ; 
and  his  fall  is  marked  by  the  lasting  name  of  the  town. 
After  this  he  overthrew  Hunding  and  Rorik,  seized  Leire, 
and  reunited  the  dismembered  realm  of  Denmark  into  its 
original  shape.  Then  he  found  that  Asmund,  the  King 
of  the  Wikars,  had  been  deprived  of  his  throne  by  his  elder 
sister;  and,  angered  by  such  presumption  on  the  part  of 

456 


500a:  seven 

a  woman,  went  to  Norway  with  a  single  ship,  while  the 
war  was  still  undecided,  to  help  him.  The  battle  began ; 
and,  clothed  in  a  purple  cloak,  with  a  coif  broidered  with 
gold,  and  with  his  hair  bound  up,  he  went  against  the 
enemy  trusting  not  in  arms,  but  in  his  silent  certainty  of 
his  luck,  insomuch  that  he  seemed  dressed  more  for  a 
feast  than  a  fray.  But  his  spirit  did  not  match  his  attire. 
For,  though  unarmed  and  only  adorned  with  his  emblems 
of  royalty,  he  outstripped  the  rest  who  bore  arms,  and 
exposed  himself,  lightly-armed  as  he  was,  to  the  hottest 
perils  of  the  battle.  For  the  shafts  aimed  against  him 
lost  all  power  to  hurt,  as  if  their  points  had  been  blunted. 
When  the  other  side  saw  him  fighting  unarmed,  they 
made  an  attack,  and  were  forced  for  very  shame  into 
assailing  him  more  hotly.  But  Harald,  whole  in  body, 
either  put  them  to  the  sword,  or  made  them  take  to 
flight;  and  thus  he  overthrew  the  sister  of  Asmund,  and 
restored  him  his  kingdom.  When  Asmund  offered 
him  the  prizes  of  victory,  he  said  that  the  reward  of  glory 
was  enough  by  itself;  and  demeaned  himself  as  greatly 
in  refusing  the  gifts  as  he  had  in  earning  them.  By  this 
he  made  all  men  admire  his  self-restraint  as  much  as  his 
valour;  and  declared  that  the  victory  should  give  him  a 
harvest  not  of  gold  but  glory. 

Meantime  Alver,  the  King  of  the  Swedes,  died  leaving 
sons  Olaf,  Ing,  and  Ingild.  One  of  these,  Ing,  dissat- 
isfied with  the  honours  his  father  bequeathed  him.  declared 
war  with  the  Danes  in  order  to  extend  his  empire.  And 
when  Harald  wished  to  inquire  of  oracles  how  this  war 
would  end,  an  old  man  of  great  height,  but  lacking  one 

457 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

eye,  and  clad  also  in  a  hairy  mantle,  appeared  before  him, 
and  declared  that  he  was  called  Odin,  and  was  versed  in 
the  practice  of  warfare ;  and  he  gave  him  the  most  useful 
instruction  how  to  divide  up  his  army  in  the  field.  Now 
he  told  him,  whenever  he  was  going  to  make  war  with 
his  land-forces,  to  divide  his  whole  army  into  three 
squadrons,  each  of  which  he  was  to  pack  into  twenty 
ranks;  the  centre  squadron,  however,  he  was  to  extend 
further  than  the  rest  by  the  number  of  twenty  men. 
This  squadron  he  was  also  to  arrange  in  the  form  of  the 
point  of  a  cone  or  pyramid,  and  to  make  the  wings  on 
either  side  slant  off  obliquely  from  it.  He  was  to  compose 
the  successive  ranks  of  each  squadron  in  the  following 
way :  the  front  should  begin  with  two  men,  and  the  num- 
ber in  each  succeeding  rank  should  only  increase  by  one; 
he  was,  in  fact,  to  post  a  rank  of  three  in  the  second  line, 
four  in  the  third,  and  so  on  behind.  And  thus,  when  the 
men  mustered,  all  the  succeeding  ranks  were  to  be 
manned  at  the  same  rate  of  proportion,  until  the  end  of 
(the  edge  that  made)  the  junction  of  men  came  down  to 
the  wings;  each  wing  was  to  be  drawn  up  in  ten  lines 
from  that  point.  Likewise  after  these  squadrons  he  was 
to  put  the  young  men,  equipped  with  lances,  and  behind 
these  to  set  the  company  of  aged  men,  who  would  support 
their  comrades  with  what  one  might  call  a  veteran  valour 
if  they  faltered;  next,  a  skilful  reckoner  should  attach 
wings  of  slingers  to  stand  behind  the  ranks  of  their  fellows 
and  attack  the  enemy  from  a  distance  with  missiles. 
After  these  he  was  to  enroll  men  of  any  age  or  rank  indis- 
criminately, without  heed  of  their  estate.     Moreover,  he 

458 


BOOK  SEVEN 

was  to  draw  up  the  rear  like  the  vanguard,  in  three 
separated  divisions,  and  arranged  in  ranks  similarly 
proportioned.  The  back  of  this,  joining  on  to  the  body  in 
front  would  protect  it  by  facing  in  the  opposite  direction. 
But  if  a  sea-battle  happened  to  occur,  he  should  withdraw 
a  portion  of  his  fleet,  which  when  he  began  the  intended 
engagement,  was  to  cruise  round  that  of  the  enemy, 
wheeling  to  and  fro  continually.  Equipped  with  this 
system  of  warfare,  he  forestalled  matters  in  Sweden,  and 
killed  Ing  and  Olaf  as  they  were  making  ready  to  fight. 
Their  brother  Ingild  sent  messengers  to  beg  a  truce,  on 
pretence  of  his  ill-health.  Harald  granted  his  request, 
that  his  own  valour,  which  had  learnt  to  spare  distress, 
might  not  triumph  over  a  man  in  the  hour  of  lowliness 
and  dejection.  When  Ingild  afterwards  provoked 
Harald  by  wrongfully  ravishing  his  sister,  Harald  vexed 
him  with  long  and  indecisive  war,  but  then  took  him  into 
his  friendship,  thinking  it  better  to  have  him  for  ally  than 
for  enemy. 

After  this  he  heard  that  Olaf,  King  of  the  Thronds, 
had  to  fight  with  the  maidens  Stikla  and  Rusila  for  the 
kingdom.  Much  angered  at  this  arrogance  on  the  part  of 
women,  he  went  to  Olaf  unobserved,  put  on  dress  which 
concealed  the  length  of  his  teeth,  and  attacked  the 
maidens.  He  overthrew  them  both,  leaving  to  two  har- 
bours a  name  akin  to  theirs.  It  was  then  that  he  gave  a 
notable  exhibition  of  valour;  for  defended  only  by  a  shirt 
under  his  shoulders,  he  fronted  the  spears  with  unarmed 
breast. 

When  Olaf  offered   Harald  the  prize  of  victory,   he 

459 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

rejected  the  gift,  thus  leaving  it  a  question  whether  he 
had  shown  a  greater  example  of  bravery  or  self-control. 
Then  he  attacked  a  champion  of  the  Frisian  nation,  named 
Ubbe,  who  was  ravaging  the  borders  of  Jutland  and 
destroying  numbers  of  the  common  people;  and  when 
Harald  could  not  subdue  him  to  his  arms,  he  charged  his 
soldiers  to  grip  him  with  their  hands,  throw  him  on  the 
ground,  and  to  bind  him  while  thus  overpowered.  Thus  he 
only  overcame  the  man  and  mastered  him  by  a  shameful 
kind  of  attack,  though  a  little  before  he  thought  he  would 
inflict  a  heavy  defeat  on  him.  But  Harald  gave  him  his 
sister  in  marriage,  and  thus  gained  him  for  his  soldier. 
Harald  made  tributaries  of  the  nations  that  lay  along 
the  Rhine,  levying  troops  from  the  bravest  of  that  race. 
With  these  forces  he  conquered  Sclavonia  in  war,  and 
caused  its  generals,  Duk  and  Dal,  because  of  their  bravery, 
to  be  captured,  and  not  killed.  These  men  he  took  to  serve 
with  him,  and,  after  overcoming  Aquitania,  soon  went  to 
Britain,  where  he  overthrew  the  King  of  the  Humbrians, 
and  enrolled  the  smartest  of  the  warriors  he  had  con- 
quered, the  chief  of  whom  was  esteemed  to  be  Orm, 
surnamed  the  Briton.  The  fame  of  these  deeds  brought 
champions  from  divers  parts  of  the  world,  whom,  he  formed 
into  a  band  of  mercenaries.  Strengthened  by  their  num- 
bers, he  kept  down  insurrections  in  all  kingdoms  by  the 
terror  of  his  name,  so  that  he  took  out  of  their  rulers  all 
courage  to  fight  with  one  another.  Moreover,  no  man 
durst  assume  any  sovereignty  on  the  sea  without  his  con- 
sent; for  of  old  the  state  of  the  Danes  had  the  joint  lord- 
ship of  land  and  sea. 

460 


BOOK  SEVEN 

Meantime  Ingild  died  in  Sweden,  leaving  only  a  very 
little  son,  Ring,  whom  he  had  by  the  sister  of  Harald. 
Harald  gave  the  boy  guardians,  and  put  him  over  his 
father's  kingdom.  Thus,  when  he  had  overcome  princes 
and  provinces,  he  passed  fifty  years  in  peace.  To  save 
the  minds  of  his  soldiers  from  being  melted  into  sloth 
by  this  inaction,  he  decreed  that  they  should  assiduously 
learn  from  the  champions  the  way  of  parrying  and  deal- 
ing blows.  Some  of  these  were  skilled  in  a  remarkable 
manner  of  fighting,  and  used  to  smite  the  eyebrow  on  the 
enemy's  forehead  with  an  infallible  stroke;  but  if  any 
man,  on  receiving  the  blow,  blinked  for  fear,  twitching 
his  eyebrow,  he  was  at  once  expelled  the  court  and  dis- 
missed the  service. 

At  this  time  Ole,  the  son  of  Siward  and  of  Harald's 
sister,  came  to  Denmark  from  the  land  of  Norway  in  the 
desire  to  see  his  uncle.  Since  it  is  known  that  he  had  the 
first  place  among  the  followers  of  Harald,  and  that  after 
the  Swedish  war  he  came  to  the  throne  of  Denmark,  it 
bears  somewhat  on  the  subject  to  relate  the  traditions  of 
his  deeds.  Ole,  then,  when  he  had  passed  his  tenth  to 
his  fifteenth  year  with  his  father,  showed  incredible  proofs 
of  his  brilliant  gifts  both  of  mind  and  body.  ^Moreover,  he 
was  so  savage  of  countenance  that  his  eyes  were  like  the 
arms  of  other  men  against  the  enemy,  and  he  terrified  the 
bravest  with  his  stern  and  flashing  glance.  He  heard  the 
tidings  that  Gunn,  ruler  of  Tellemark,  with  his  son  Grim, 
was  haunting  as  a  robber  the  forest  of  Etha-scog,  which 
was  thick  with  underbrush  and  full  of  gloomy  glens. 
The  offence  moved  his  anger ;  then  he  asked  his  father  for 

461 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

a  horse,  a  dog,  and  such  armour  as  could  be  got,  and 
cursed  his  youth,  which  was  suffering  the  right  season  for 
valour  to  slip  sluggishly  away.  He  got  what  he  asked, 
and  explored  the  aforesaid  wood  very  narrowly.  He  saw 
the  footsteps  of  a  man  printed  deep  on  the  snow ;  for  the 
rime  was  blemished  by  the  steps,  and  betrayed  the  robber's 
progress.  Thus  guided,  he  went  over  a  hill,  and  came 
on  a  verv  srreat  river.  This  effaced  the  human  tracks  he 
had  seen  before,  and  he  determined  that  he  must  cross. 
But  the  mere  mass  of  water,  whose  waves  ran  down  in  a 
headlong  torrent,  seemed  to  forbid  all  crossing ;  for  it  was 
full  of  hidden  reefs,  and  the  whole  length  of  its  channel 
was  turbid  with  a  kind  of  whirl  of  foam.  Yet  all  fear 
of  danger  was  banished  from  Ole's  mind  by  his 
impatience  to  make  haste.  So  valour  conquered  fear, 
and  rashness  scorned  peril;  thinking  nothing  hard  to 
do  if  it  were  only  to  his  mind,  he  crossed  the  hissing 
eddies  on  horseback.  When  he  had  passed  these,  he 
came  upon  defiles  surrounded  on  all  sides  with  swamps, 
the  interior  of  which  was  barred  from  easy  approach  by 
the  pinnacle  of  a  bank  in  front.  He  took  his  horse  over 
this,  and  saw  an  enclosure  with  a  number  of  stalls.  Out 
of  this  he  turned  many  horses,  and  was  minded  to  put  in 
his  own,  when  a  certain  Tok,  a  servant  of  Gunn,  angry 
that  a  stranger  should  wax  so  insolent,  attacked  him 
fiercely ;  but  Ole  foiled  his  assailant  by  simply  opposing  his 
shield.  Thinking  it  a  shame  to  slay  the  fellow  with  the 
sword,  he  seized  him,  shattered  him  limb  by  limb,  and  flung 
him  across  into  the  house  whence  he  had  issued  in  his 
haste.     This  insult  quickly  aroused  Gunn  and  Grim :  they 

462 


BOOK  SEVEK 

ran  out  by  different  side-doors,  and  charged  Ole  both  at 
once,  despising  his  age  and  strength.  He  wounded  them 
fatally;  and,  when  their  bodily  powers  were  quite  spent, 
Grim,  who  could  scarce  muster  a  final  gasp,  and  whose 
force  was  almost  utterly  gone,  with  his  last  pants  com- 
posed this  song: 

"Though  we  be  weak  in  frame,  and  the  loss  of  blood 
has  drained  our  strength ;  since  the  life-breath,  now 
drawn  out  by  my  w^ound,  scarce  quivers  softly  in  my 
pierced  breast: 

"I  counsel  that  we  should  make  the  battle  of  our  last 
hour  glorious  with  dauntless  deeds,  that  none  may  say 
that  a  combat  has  anywhere  been  bravelier  waged  or 
harder  fought; 

"And  that  our  wild  strife  while  we  bore  arms  may, 
when  our  weary  flesh  has  found  rest  in  the  tomb,  w'in  us 
the   wage  of   immortal   fame. 

"Let  our  first  stroke  crush  the  shoulder-blades  of  the 
foe,  let  our  steel  cut  off  both  his  hands;  so  that,  when 
Stygian  Pluto  has  taken  us,  a  like  doom  may  fall  on 
Ole  also,  and  a  common  death  tremble  over  three,  and  one 
urn  cover  the  ashes  of  three." 

Here  Grim  ended.  But  his  father,  rivalling  his 
indomitable  spirit,  and  wishing  to  give  some  exhortation 
in  answer  to  his  son's  valiant  speech,  thus  began : 

"What  though  our  veins  be  wholly  bloodless,  and  in 
our  frail  body  the  life  be  brief,  yet  our  last  fight  be  so 
strong  and  strenuous  that  it  suffer  not  the  praise  of  us  to 
be  brief  also. 

"Therefore  aim  the  javelin  first  at  the  shoulders  and 

4^^3 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

arms  of  the  foe,  so  that  the  work  of  his  hands  may  be 
weakened ;  and  thus  when  we  are  gone  three  shall  receive 
a  common  sepulchre,  and  poe  urn  alike  for  three  shall 
cover  our  united  dust." 

When  he  had  said  this,  both  of  them,  resting  on  their 
knees  (for  the  approach  of  death  had  drained  their 
strength),  made  a  desperate  effort  to  fight  Ole  hand  to 
hand,  in  order  that,  before  they  perished,  they  might  slay 
their  enemy  also ;  counting  death  as  nothing  if  only  they 
might  envelope  their  slayer  in  a  common  fall.  Ole  slew 
one  of  them  with  his  sword,  the  other  with  his  hound.  But 
even  he  gained  no  bloodless  victory;  for  though  he  had 
been  hitherto  unscathed,  now  at  last  he  received  a  wound 
in  front.  His  dog  diligently  licked  him  over,  and  he 
regained  his  bodily  strength :  and  soon,  to  publish  sure 
news  of  his  victory,  he  hung  the  bodies  of  the  robbers 
upon  gibbets  in  wide  view.  Moreover,  he  took  the 
stronghold,  and  put  in  secret  keeping  all  the  booty  he 
found  there,  in  reserve  for  future  use. 

At  this  time  the  arrogant  wantonness  of  the  brothers 
Skate  and  Hiale  waxed  so  high  that  they  would  take 
virgins  of  notable  beauty  from  their  parents  and  ravish 
them.  Hence  it  came  about  that  they  formed  the  purpose 
of  seizing  Esa,  the  daughter  of  Olaf ,  prince  of  the  Werms ; 
and  bade  her  father,  if  he  would  not  have  her  serve  the 
passion  of  a  stranger,  fight  either  in  person,  or  by  some 
deputy,  in  defence  of  his  child.  When  Ole  had  news  of 
this,  he  rejoiced  in  the  chance  of  a  battle,  and  borrowing 
the  attire  of  a  peasant,  went  to  the  dwelling  of  Olaf.  He 
received  one  of  the  lowest  places  at  table;  and  when  he 

464 


BOOK  SEVEN 

saw  the  household  of  the  king  in  sorrow,  he  called  the 
king's  son  closer  to  him,  and  asked  why  they  all  wore  so 
lamentable  a  face.  The  other  .answered,  that  unless  some- 
one quickly  interposed  to  protect  them,  his  sister's  chastity 
would  soon  be  outraged  by  some  ferocious  champions. 
Ole  next  asked  him  what  reward  would  be  received  by  the 
man  who  devoted  his  life  for  the  maiden.  Olaf,  on  his 
son  asking  him  about  this  matter,  said  that  his  daughter 
should  go  to  the  man  who  fought  for  her:  and  these 
words,  more  than  anything,  made  Ole  long  to  encounter 
the  danger. 

Now  the  maiden  was  wont  to  go  from  one  guest  to 

another  in  order  to  scan  their  faces  narrowly,  holding  out 

a  light  that  she  might  have  a  surer  view  of  the  dress  and 

character   of   those   who   were   entertained.     It    is   also 

believed  that  she  divined  their  lineage  from  the  lines  and 

features  of  the  face,  and  could  discern  any  man's  birth  by 

sheer  shrewdness  of  vision.     When  she  stood  and  fixed 

the  scrutiny  of  her  gaze  upon  Olaf,  she  was  stricken  with 

the  strange  aw  fulness  of  his  eyes,  and  fell  almost  lifeless. 

But  when  her  strength  came  slowly  back,  and  her  breath 

went  and  came  more  freely,  she  again  tried  to  look  at  the 

young  man,  but  suddenly  slipped  and   fell   forward,  as 

though  distraught.     A  third  time  also  she  strove  to  lift 

her  closed  and  downcast  gaze,  but  suddenly  tottered  and 

fell,  unable  not  only  to  move  her  eyes,  but  even  to  control 

her  feet ;  so  much  can  strength  be  palsied  by  amazement. 

When  Olaf  saw  it,  he  asked  her  why  she  had  fallen  so 

often.     She  averred  that  she  was  stricken  by  the  savage 

gaze  of  the  guest;  that  he  was  born  of  kings;  and  she 

465 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

declared  that  if  he  could  baulk  the  will  of  the  ravishers, 
he  was  well  worthy  of  her  arms.  Then  all  of  them  asked 
Ole,  who  was  keeping  his  face  muffled  in  a  hat,  to  fling  off 
his  covering,  and  let  them  see  something  by  which  to  learn 
his  features.  Then,  bidding  them  all  lay  aside  their  grief, 
and  keep  their  heart  far  from  sorrow,  he  uncovered  his 
brow ;  and  he  drew  the  eyes  of  all  upon  him  in  marvel  at 
his  great  beauty.  For  his  locks  were  golden  and  the 
hair  of  his  head  was  radiant ;  but  he  kept  the  lids  close  over 
his  pupils,  that  they  might  not  terrify  the  beholders. 

All  were  heartened  with  the  hope  of  better  things ;  the 
guests  seemed  to  dance  and  the  courtiers  to  leap  for  joy ; 
the  deepest  melancholy  seemed  to  be  scattered  by  an  out- 
burst of  cheerfulness.  Thus  hope  relieved  their  fears ;  the 
banquet  wore  a  new  face,  and  nothing  was  the  same,  or 
like  what  it  had  been  before.  So  the  kindly  promise  of  a 
single  guest  dispelled  the  universal  terror.  Meanwhile 
Hiale  and  Skate  came  up  with  ten  servants,  meaning  to 
carry  off  the  maiden  then  and  there,  and  disturbed  all  the 
place  with  their  noisy  shouts.  They  called  on  the  king  to 
give  battle,  unless  he  produced  his  daughter  instantly.  Ole 
at  once  met  their  frenzy  with  the  promise  to  fight,  adding 
the  condition  that  no  one  should  stealthily  attack  an  oppo- 
nent in  the  rear,  but  should  only  combat  in  the  battle  face 
to  face.  Then,  with  his  sword  called  Logthi,  he  felled  them 
all,  single-handed — an  achievement  beyond  his  years.  The 
ground  for  the  battle  was  found  on  an  isle  in  the  middle 
of  a  swamp,  not  far  from  which  is  a  stead  that  serves  to 
memorise  this  slaughter,  bearing  the  names  of  the  brothers 
Hiale  and  Skate  together. 

466 


BOOK  SEVEN 

So  the  girl  was  given  him  as  prize  of  the  combat,  and 
bore  him  a  son  Omuncl.     Then  he  gained  his  father-in-, 
law's  leave  to  revisit  his  father.     But  when  he  heard  that 
his  country  was  being  attacked  by  Thore,  with  the  help 
of  Toste  Sacrificer,  and  Leotar,  surnamed  ....  he  went 
to  fight  them,  content  with  a  single  servant,  who  was 
dressed  as  a  woman.     When  he  was  near  the  house  of 
Thore,  he  concealed  his  own  and  his  attendant's  swords  in 
hollowed  staves.     And  when  he  entered  the  palace,  he 
disguised  his  true  countenance,  and  feigned  to  be  a  man 
broken  with  age.     He  said  that  with  Siward  he  had  been 
king  of  the  beggars,  but  that  he  was  now  in  exile,  having 
been  stubbornly  driven  forth  by  the  hatred  of  the  king's 
son  Ole.     Presently  many  of  the  courtiers  greeted  him 
with  the  name  of  king,  and  began  to  kneel  and  offer  him 
their  hands  in  mockery.     He  told  them  to  bear  out  in 
deeds  what  they  had  done  in  jest;  and,  plucking  out  the 
swords  which  he  and  his  man  kept  shut  in  their  staves, 
attacked  the  king.     So  some  aided  Ole,  taking  it  more  as 
jest  than  earnest,  and  would  not  be  false  to  the  loyalty 
which  they  mockingly  yielded  him;  but  most  of  them, 
breaking  their  idle  vow,  took  the  side  of  Thore.     Thus 
arose  an  internecine  and  undecided  fray.     At  last  Thore 
was  overwhelmed  and  slain  by  the  arms  of  his  own  folk, 
as  much  as  by  these  of  his  guests ;  and  Leotar,  wounded 
to  the  death,  and  judging  that  his  conqueror,  Ole.  was  as 
keen  in  mind  as  he  was  valorous  in  deeds,  gave  him  the 
name  of  the  Vigorous,  and  prophesied  that  he  should 
perish  by  the  same  kind  of  trick  as  he  had  used  with  Thore ; 
for,  without  question  he  should  fall  by  the  treachery  of 

467 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

his  own  house.  And,  as  he  spoke,  he  suddenly  passed 
away.  Thus  we  can  see  that  the  last  speech  of  the  dying 
man  expressed  by  its  shrewd  divination  the  end  that 
should  come  upon  his  conqueror. 

After  these  deeds  Ole  did  not  go  back  to  his  father  till 
he  had  restored  peace  to  his  house.  His  father  gave  him 
the  command  of  the  sea,  and  he  destroyed  seventy  sea- 
kings  in  a  naval  battle.  The  most  distinguished  among 
these  were  Birwil  and  Hwirwil,  Thorwil,  Nef  and  Onef,  i 
Redward  (?),  Rand  and  Erand  (?).  By  the  honour 
and  glory  of  this  exploit  he  excited  many  champions, 
whose  whole  heart's  desire  was  for  bravery,  to  join  in 
alliance  with  him.  He  also  enrolled  into  a  bodyguard  the 
wild  young  warriors  who  were  kindled  with  a  passion  for 
glory.  Among  these  he  received  Starkad  with  the 
greatest  honour,  and  cherished  him  with  more  friendship 
than  profit.  Thus  fortified,  he  checked,  by  the  greatness 
of  his  name,  the  wantonness  of  the  neighbouring  kings, 
in  that  he  took  from  them  all  their  forces  and  all  liking 
and  heart  for  mutual  warfare. 

After  this  he  went  to  Harald,  who  made  him  com- 
mander of  the  sea ;  and  at  last  he  was  transferred  to  the 
service  of  Ring.  At  this  time  one  Brun  was  the  sole 
partner  and  confidant  of  all  Harald's  councils.  To  this 
man  both  Harald  and  Ring,  whenever  they  needed  a 
secret  messenger,  used  to  entrust  their  commissions. 
This  degree  of  intimacy  he  obtained  because  he  had  been 
reared  and  fostered  with  them.  But  Brun,  amid  the  toils 
of  his  constant  journeys  to  and  fro,  was  drowned  in  a 
certain  river;  and  Odin,  disguised  under  his  name  and 

468 


BOOK  SEVEN 

looks,  shook  the  close  union  of  the  kings  by  his  treach- 
erous embassage;  and  he  sowed  strife  so  guilefully  that  he 
engendered  in  men,  \vho  were  bound  by  friendship  and 
blood,  a  bitter  mutual  hate,  which  seemed  unappeasable 
except  by  war.  Their  dissensions  first  grew  up  silently ; 
at  last  both  sides  betrayed  their  leanings,  and  their  secret 
malice  burst  into  the  light  of  day.  So  they  declared 
their  feuds,  and  seven  years  passed  in  collecting  the 
materials  of  war.  Some  say  that  Harald  secretly  sought 
occasions  to  destroy  himself,  not  being  moved  by  malice 
or  jealousy  for  the  crown,  but  by  a  deliberate  and  volun- 
tary effort.  His  old  age  and  his  cruelty  made  him  a 
burden  to  his  subjects ;  he  preferred  the  sword  to  the  pangs 
of  disease,  and  liked  better  to  lay  down  his  life  in  the 
battle-field  than  in  his  bed,  tliat  he  might  have  an  end  in 
harmony  w^ith  the  deeds  of  his  past  life.  Thus,  to  make 
his  death  more  illustrious,  and  go  to  the  nether  world 
in  a  larger  company,  he  longed  to  summon  many  men  to 
share  his  end;  and  he  therefore  of  his  own  will  prepared 
for  war,  in  order  to  make  food  for  future  slaughter.  For 
these  reasons,  l^eing  seized  with  as  great  a  thirst  to  die 
himself  as  to  kill  others,  and  wishing  the  massacre  on  both 
sides  to  be  equal,  he  furnished  both  sides  with  equal 
resources;  but  let  Ring  have  a  somewhat  stronger  force. 
preferring  he  should  conquer  and  survive  him. 


12  469 


BOOK   EIGHT. 


Starkad  was  the  first  to  set  in  order  in  Danish  speech 
the  history  of  the  Swedish  war,  a  conflict  whereof  he  was 
himself  a  mighty  pillar;  the  said  history  being  rather  an 
oral  than  a  written  tradition.  He  set  forth  and  arranged 
the  course  of  this  war  in  the  mother  tongue  according  to 
the  fashion  of  our  country ;  but  I  purpose  to  put  it  into 
Latin,  and  will  first  recount  the  most  illustrious  princes 
on  either  side.  For  I  have  felt  no  desire  to  include  the 
multitude,  which  are  even  past  exact  numbering.  And 
my  pen  shall  relate  first  those  on  the  side  of  Harald,  and 
presently  those  who  served  under  Ring. 

Now  the  most  famous  of  the  captains  that  mustered  to 
Harald  are  acknowledged  to  have  been  Sweyn  and  Sam- 
bar  (Sam?),  Ambar  and  Elli;  Rati  of  Funen,  Salgard 
and  Roe  (Hrothgar),  whom  his  long  beard  distinguished 
by  a  nickname.  Besides  these,  Skalk  the  Scanian,  and 
Alf  the  son  of  Agg ;  to  whom  are  joined  Olwir  the  Broad, 
,  and  Gnepie  the  Old.  Besides  these  there  was  Gardh, 
founder  of  the  town  Stang.  To  these  are  added  the  kins- 
folk or  bound  followers  of  Harald:  Blend  (Blaeng?), 
the  dweller  in  furthest  Thule,*  and  Brand,  whose  surname 
was  Crumb  (Bitling?).  Allied  with  these  were  Thor- 
gny,  with  Thorwig,  Tatar   (Teit),  and  Hialte.     These 

♦Furthest   Thulel    The   names   of   Icelanders   have  thus   crept   Into  the 
account  of  a  battle  fousht  before  the  discovery  of  Iceland. 

471 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

men  voyaged  to  Leire  with  bodies  armed  for  war;  but 
they  were  also  mighty  in  excellence  of  wit,  and  their 
trained  courage  matched  their  great  stature;  for  they 
had  skill  in  discharging  arrows  both  from  bow  and  cata- 
pult, and  at  fighting  their  foe  as  they  commonly  did,  man 
to  man;  and  also  at  readily  stringing  together  verse  in 
the  speech  of  their  country :  so  zealously  had  they  trained 
mind  and  body  alike.  Now  out  of  Leire  came  Hortar 
(Hjort)  and  B'orrhy  (Borgar  o?'  Borgny),  and  also  Belgi 
and  Beigad,  to  whom  were  added  Bari  and  Toli.  Now 
out  of  the  town  of  Sle,  imder  the  captains  Hetha  (Held) 
and  Wisna,  with  Hakon  Cut-cheek  came  Tummi  the  Sail- 
maker.  On  these  captains,  who  had  the  bodies  of  women, 
nature  bestowed  the  souls  of  men.  Webiorg  was  also 
inspired  with  the  same  spirit,  and  was  attended  by  Bo 
(Bui)  Bramason  and  Brat  the  Jute,  thirsting  for  war.  In 
the  same  throng  came  Orm  of  England,  Ubbe  the  Frisian, 
Ari  the  One-eyed,  and  Alf  Gotar.  Next  in  the  count  came 
Dal  the  Fat  and  Duk  the  Sclav;  Wisna,  a  woman,  filled 
with  sternness,  and  a  skilled  warrior,  \\'as  guarded  by  a 
band  of  Sclavs :  her  chief  followers  were  Barri  and  Gnizli. 
But  the  rest  of  the  same  company  had  their  bodies  covered 
by  little  shields,  and  used  very  long  swords  and  targets 
of  skiey  hue,  which,  in  time  of  war,  they  either  cast 
behind  their  backs  or  gave  over  to  the  baggage-bearers; 
while  they  cast  away  all  protection  to  their  breasts,  and 
exposed  their  bodies  to  every  peril,  offering  battle  with 
drawn  swords.  The  most  illustrious  of  these  were  Tolkar 
and  Ymi.  After  these,  Toki  of  the  province  of  Wollin 
was  conspicuous  together  with  Otrit  surnamed  the  Young. 

472 


BOOK  EIGHT 

Hetha,  guarded  by  a  retinue  of  very  active  men,  brought 
an  armed  company  to  the  war,  the  chiefs  of  whom  were 
Grim  and  Grenzh;  next  to  whom  are  named  Geir  the 
Livonian,  Hame  also  and  Hunger,  HumbH  and  Biari, 
bravest  of  the  princes.  These  men  often  fought  duels 
successfully,  and  won  famous  victories  far  and  wide. 

The  maidens  I  have  named,  in  fighting  as  well  as  cour- 
teous array,  led  their  land-forces  to  the  battle-field.  Thus 
the  Danish  army  mustered  company  by  company.  There 
were  seven  kings,  equal  in  spirit  but  differing  in  allegiance, 
some  defending  Harald,  and  some  Ring.  Moreover,  the 
following  w^ent  to  the  side  of  Harald :  Homi  and  Hosathul 

(Eysothul?),  Him ,  Hastin  and  Hythin  (Hedin) 

the  Slight,  also  Dahar  (Dag),  named  Grenski,  and  Harald 
Olafsson  also.  From  the  province  of  Aland  came  Har 
and  Herlewar  (Herleif),  with  Hothbrodd,  surnamed  the 
Furious;  these  fought  in  the  Danish  camp.  But  from 
Imisland  arrived  Humnehy  (?)  and  Harald.  They  were 
joined  by  Haki  and  by  Sigmund  and  Serker  the  sons  of 
Bemon,  all  coming  from  the  North.  All  these  were 
retainers  of  the  king,  who  befriended  them  most  gener- 
ously; for  they  were  held  in  the  highest  distinction  by 
him,  receiving  swords  adorned  with  gold,  and  the  choicest 

spoils  of  war.     There  came  also the  sons   of 

Gandal  the  old,  who  were  in  the  intimate  favour  of  Harald 
by  reason  of  ancient  allegiance.  Thus  the  sea  w^as 
studded  with  the  Danish  fleet,  and  semed  to  interpose  a 
bridge,  uniting  Zealand  to  Skaane.  To  those  that  washed 
to  pass  between  those  provinces,  the  sea  offered  a  short 
road  on  foot  over  the  dense  mass  of  ships.     But  Harald 

473 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

would  not  have  the  Swedes  unprepared  in  their  arrange- 
ments for  war,  and  sent  men  to  Ring  to  carry  his  pubhc 
declaration  of  hostilities,  and  notify  the  rupture  of  the 
mediating  peace.  The  same  men  were  directed  to 
prescribe  the  place  of  combat.  These  then  whom  I  have 
named  were  the  fighters  for  Harald. 

Now,  on  the  side  of  Ring  were  numbered  Ulf,  Aggi 
(Aki?),  Windar  (Eywind?),  Egil  the  One-eyed;  Gotar, 
Hildi,  Guti  Alfsson;  Styr  the  Stout,  and  (Tolo-)  Stein, 
who  lived  by  the  Wienie  Mere.  To  these  were  joined 
Gerd  the  Glad  and  Gromer  (Glum?)  from  Wermland. 
After  these  are  reckoned  the  dwellers  north  on  the  Elbe, 
Saxo  the  Splitter,  Sali  the  Goth ;  Thord  the  Stumbler, 
Throndar  Big-nose;  Grundi,  Oddi,  Grindir,  Tovi;  Koll, 
Biarki,  Hogni  the  Clever,  Rokar  the  Swart.  Now  these 
scorned  fellowship  with  the  common  soldiers,  and  had 
formed  themselves  into  a  separate  rank  apart  from  the  rest 
of  the  company.  Besides  these  are  numbered  Hrani  Hil- 
disson  and  Lyuth  Guthi  (Hljot  Godi),  Svein  the  Top- 
shorn,  (Soknarsoti?),  Rethyr  (Hreidar?)  Hawk,  and 
Rolf  the  Uxorious  (Woman-lover).  Massed  with  these 
were  Ring  Adilsson  and  Harald  who  came  from  Thotn 
district.  Joined  to  these  were  Walstein  of  Wick,  Thorolf 
the  Thick,  Thengel  the  Tall,  Hun,  Solwe,  Birwal  the  Pale, 
Borgar  and  Skum,bar  (Skum).  But  from'  Tellemark 
came  the  bravest  of  all,  who  had  most  courage  but  least 
arrogance — Thorleif  the  Stubborn,  Thorkill  the  Gute 
(Gothlander),  Grettir  the  Wicked  and  the  Lover  of 
Invasions.  Next  to  these  came  Hadd  the  Hard  and 
Rolder  (Hroald)  Toe-joint. 

474 


BOOK  EIGHT 

From  Norway  we  have  the  names  of  Thrancl  of 
Throndhjem,  Thoke  (Thore)  of  More,  Hrafn  the  White, 
Haf  (war),  Biarni,  BHhar  (BHg?)  surnamed  Snub- 
nosed;  Biorn  from  the  district  of  Sogni ;  Findar  (Finn) 
born  in  the  Firth ;  Bersi  bom  in  the  town  F(i)alu ;  Siward 
Boarhead,  Erik  the  Story-teller,  Holmstein  the  White. 
Hrut  Rawi  {or  Vafi,  the  Doubter),  Erling  surnamed 
Snake.  Now  from  the  province  of  Jather  came  Odd  the 
Englishman,  Alf  the  Far-wanderer,  Enar  the  Paunched, 
and  Ywar  surnamed  Thriug.  Now  from  Thule  (Ice- 
land) came  Mar  the  Red,  born  and  bred  in  the  district 
called  Midfirth;  Grombar  the  Aged,  Gram  Brundeluk 
(Bryndalk?)  Grim  from  the  tt)wn  of  Skier  (um)  born 
in  Skagafiord.  Next  came  Berg  the  Seer,  accompanied 
by  Bragi  and  Rafnkel. 

Now  the  bravest  of  the  Swedes  were  these:  Arwakki, 
Keklu-Karl  (Kelke-Karl),  Krok  the  Peasant,  (from 
Akr),  Gudfast  and  Gummi  from  Gislamark.  These  were 
kindred  of  the  god  Frey,  and  most  faithful  witnesses  to 
the  gods.  Ingi  (Yngwe)  also,  and  Oly,  Alver,  Folki,  all 
sons  of  Elrik  (Alrek),  embraced  the  service  of  Ring;  they 
were  men  ready  of  hand,  quick  in  counsel,  and  very  close 
friends  of  Ring.  They  likewise  held  the  god  Frey  to  be 
the  founder  of  their  race.  Amongst  these  from  the  town 
of  Sigtun  also  came  Sigmund,  a  champion  advocate, 
versed  in  making  contracts  of  sale  and  purchase ;  besides 
him  Frosti  surnamed  Bowl :  allied  with  him  was  Alf  the 
Lofty  (Proud?)  from  the  district  of  Upsala ;  this  man 
was  a  swift  sj^ear-thrower,  and  used  to  go  in  the  front 
of  the  battle. 

475 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

Ole  had  a  body-guard  in  which  were  seven  kings,  very 
ready  of  hand  and  of  counsel;  namely,  Holti,  Hendil, 
Holmar,  Lewy  (Leif),  and  Hame;  with  these  was  en- 
rolled Regnald  the  Russian,  the  grandson  of  Radbard; 
and  Siwald  also  furrowed  the  sea  with  eleven  light  ships, 
Lesy  (Laesi),  the  conqueror  of  the  Pannonians  (Huns), 
fitted  with  a  sail  his  swift  galley  ringed  with  gold. 
Thririkar  (Erik  Helsing)  sailed  in  a  ship  whose  prows 
were  twisted  like  a  dragon.  Also  Thrygir  (Tryggve) 
and  Torwil  sailed  and  brought  twelve  ships  jointly.  In 
the  entire  fleet  of  Ring  there  were  2,500  ships. 

The  fleet  of  Gotland  was  waiting  for  the  Swedish 
fleet  in  the  harbour  named  Garnum.  So  Ring  led 
the  land-force,  while  Ole  was  instructed  to  command 
the  fleet.  Now  the  Goths  were  appointed  a  time 
and  a  place  between  Wik  and  Werund  for  the 
conflict  with  the  Swedes.  Then  was  the  sea  to 
be  seen  furrowed  up  w'ith  prows,  and  the  canvas 
unfurled  upon  the  masts  cut  off  the  \aew  over  the  ocean. 
The  Danes  had  so  far  been  distressed  with  bad  weather; 
but  the  Swedish  fleet  had  a  fair  voyage,  and  had  reached 
the  scene  of  battle  earlier.  Here  Ring  disembarked  his 
forces  from  his  fleet,  and  then  massed  and  prepared  to 
draw^  up  in  line  both  these  and  the  army  he  had  himself 
conducted  overland.  When  these  forces  were  at  first 
loosely  drawn  up  over  the  open  country,  it  was  found  that 
one  wing  reached  all  the  \v^ay  to  Werund.  The  multitude 
was  confused  in  its  places  and  ranks;  but  the  king  rode 
round  it,  and  posted  in  the  van  all  the  smartest  and  most 
excellently-armed  men,  led  by  Ole,  Regnald,  and  Wivil; 

476 


BOOK  EIGHT 

then  he  massed  the  rest  of  the  army  on  the  two  wings  in 
a  kind  of  curve.  Ung,  with  the  sons  of  Alrek.  and  Trig, 
he  ordered  to  protect  the  right  wing,  while  the  left  was 
put  under  the  command  of  Laesi.  Moreover,  the  wings 
and  the  masses  were  composed  mainly  of  a  close  squad- 
ron of  Kurlanders  and  of  Esthonians.  Last  stood  the 
line  of  slingers. 

Meantime  the  Danish  fleet,  favoured  by  kindly  winds, 
sailed,  without  stopping,  for  twelve  days,  and  came  to 
the  town  (stead)  of  Kalmar.  The  wind-blown  sails 
covering  the  waters  were  a  marveJ ;  and  the  canvas 
stretched  upon  the  yards  blotted  out  the  sight  of  the 
heavens.  For  the  fleet  was  augmented  by  the  Sclavs  and 
the  Livonians  and  7,000  Saxons.  But  the  Skanians, 
knowing  the  country,  were  appointed  as  guides  and 
scouts  to  those  who  were  going  over  the  dry  land.  So 
when  the  Danish  army  came  upon  the  Swedes,  who  stood 
awaiting  them.  Ring  told  his  men  to  stand  quietly  until 
Harald  had  drawn  up  his  hne  of  battle;  bidding  them 
not  to  sound  the  signal  before  they  saw  the  king  settled 
in  his  chariot  beside  the  standards ;  for  he  said  he  should 
hope  that  an  army  would  soon  come  to  grief  which 
trusted  in  the  leading  of  a  blind  man.  Harald,  more- 
over, he  said,  had  been  seized  in  extreme  age  with  the 
desire  of  foreign  empire,  and  was  as  witless  as  he  was 
sightless;  wealth  could  not  satisfy  a  man  who,  if  he 
looked  to  his  years,  ought  to  be  well-nigh  contented 
with  a  grave.  The  Swedes  therefore  were  bound  to  fight 
for  their  freedom,  their  country,  and  their  children,  while 
the  enemy  had  undertaken  the  war  in  rashness  and  arro- 

477 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

gance.  Moreover,  on  the  other  side,  there  were  very  few 
Danes,  but  a  mass  of  Saxons  and  other  unmanly  peoples 
stood  arrayed.  Swedes  and  Norwegians  should  there- 
fore consider  how  far  the  multitudes  of  the  North  had 
always  surpassed  the  Germans  and  the  Sclavs.  They 
should  therefore  despise  an  army  which  seemed  to  be  com- 
posed more,  of  a  mass  of  fickle  offscourings  than  of  a  firm 
and  stout  soldiery. 

By  this  harangue  of  King  Ring  he  kindled  high  the 
hearts  of  the  soldiers.  Now  Brun.  being  instructed  to 
form  the  line  on  Harald's  behalf,  made  the  front  in  a 
wedge,  posting  Hetha  on  the  right  flank,  putting  Hakon 
in  command  of  the  left,  and  making  Wisna  standard- 
bearer.  Harald  stood  up  in  his  chariot  and  complained, 
in  as  loud  a  voice  as  he  could,  that  Ring  was  requiting 
his  benefits  with  wrongs;  that  the  man  who  had  got  his 
kingdom  by  Harald's  own  gift  was  now  attacking  him ; 
so  that  Ring  neither  pitied  an  old  man  nor  spared  an 
uncle,  but  set  his  own  ambitions  before  any  regard  for 
Harald's  kinship  or  kindness.  So  he  bade  the  Danes 
remember  how  they  had  always  won  glory  by  foreign 
conquest,  and  how  they  were  more  wont  to  command 
their  neighbours  than  to  obey  them.  He  adjured  them 
not  to  let  such  glory  as  theirs  to  be  shaken  by  the  insolence 
of  a  conquered  nation,  nor  to  suffer  the  empire,  which  he 
had  won  in  the  flower  of  his  youth,  to  be  taken  from  him 
in  his  outworn  age. 

Then  the  trumpets  sounded,  and  both  sides  engaged  in 
battle  with  all  their  strength.  The  sky  seemed  to  fall 
suddenly  on  the  earth,  fields  and  woods  to  sink  into  the 

478 


It 

nt.    , 
6nr 


<:  ,  iiiere  were  very  lew 

'  ^r  unmanly  peoples 

-^  should  there- 

'^'c  North  had 

■^'s.     They 

o  be  com- 

•  •'■  ■'  ^rm 

.    ......  the 

t<^   nf  ...,^   to 

c  front  in  a 
TI?E  BATTLE  OF  BRAVALLAv:nin'^  Hakon 

ONE  of  the  griCfltest  battjes  in  Scandinavian  history  was  that 
fought   Detwe^n  Dan^s  and  Swedes  at  Bravalla,  East  XiOt-' 
li'nd; \l]p%r AeV  iih^Sef  Kihg^  Harald '  'H?ilcftia«l  "^M  mm'kmg 
commaftd'M:  in.  person  by^^KiilferSi^cdnBasigvvhln ItJidb  gtefrifijs 
engageni?p^„fi  f^Sl.P"^  K^bHt^r^t-k\i[ig^  fl^i^^ici{^^t,^4,ij^4tlp,-;ft^^. 
aKgrec^ate  r force  on  both   sides,'" of  more  than  200,000  men  .and 
5,000  ships.     Ring  proved  the  victor  and  Harald  was  kiliea  wirh 
30,Oob^  orT^isTr^rii'^It''i^'siiH^'tkit''Odl^'4iJi^ared  f^frlW^i  \is^' 
time  ohrearUiiatJit^is  rbattiB;:diltS5fas  the.  ehd  61  t\tt  nis^hg),:?tg:$s 

\v  they  had  ah  on  glory  by  foreign 

'  how  they  were  more  wont  t  imand 

Mrs  than  to  obey  them.     H^  them 

theirs  to  1  insolence 

m,  nor  to  suffer  the  e' 

er  of  his  youth,  to  m  him 

'Unded,  and  in 

-:ill 

■u  the 


i 


BOOK  EIGHT 

ground;  all  things  were  confounded,  and  old  Chaos  come 
again;  heaven  and  earth  mingling  in  one  tempestuous 
turmoil,  and  the  world  rushing  to  universal  ruin.  For, 
when  the  spear-throwing  began,  the  intolerable  clash  of 
arms  filled  the  air  with  an  incredible  thunder.  The  steam, 
of  the  wounds  suddenly  hung  a  mist  over  the  sky,  the 
daylight  was  hidden  under  the  hail  of  spears.  The  help 
of  the  slingers  was  of  great  use  in  the  battle.  But  when 
the  missiles  had  all  been  flung  from  hand  or  engines,  they 
fought  with  swords  or  iron-shod  maces ;  and  it  was  now 
at  close  quarters  that  most  blood  was  spilt.  Then  the 
sweat  streamed  down  their  weary  bodies,  and  the  clash 
of  the  swords  could  be  heard  afar. 

Starkad,  who  was  the  first  to  set  forth  the  history  of 
this  war  in  the  telling,  fought  foremost  in  the  fray,  and 
relates  that  he  overthrew  the  nobles  of  Harald,  Hun  and 
Elli,  Hort  and  Burgha,  and  cut  off  the  right  hand  of 
Wisna.  He  also  relates  that  one  Roa,  with  two  others, 
Gnepie  and  Gardar,  fell  wounded  by  him  in  the  field. 
To  these  he  adds  the  father  of  Skalk,  whose  name  is  not 
given.  He  also  declares  that  he  cast  Hakon,  the  bravest 
of  the  Danes,  to  the  earth,  but  received  from  him  such 
a  wound  in  return  that  he  had  to  leave  the  war  with  his 
lung  protruding  from  his  chest,  his  neck  cleft  to  the 
centre,  and  his  hand  deprived  of  one  finger;  so  that  he 
long  had  a  gaping  wound,  which  seemed  as  if  it  would 
never  either  scar  over  or  be  curable.  The  same  man 
witnesses  that  the  maiden  Weghbiorg  (Webiorg)  fought 
against  the  enemy  and  felled  Soth  the  champion.  W'hile 
she  was  threatening  to  slay  more  champions,   she  was 

479 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

pierced  through  by  an  arrow  from  the  bowstring  of 
Thorkill,  a  native  of  Tellemark.  For  the  skilled  archers 
of  the  Gotlanders  strung  their  bows  so  hard  that  the 
shafts  pierced  through  even  the  shields;  nothing  proved 
more  murderous;  for  the  arrow-points  made  their  way 
through  hauberk  and  helmet  as  if  they  were  men's  de- 
fenceless bodies. 

Meanwhile  Ubbe  the  Frisian,  who  was  the  readiest 
of  Harald's  soldiers,  and  of  notable  bodily  stature,  slew 
twenty-five  picked  champions,  besides  eleven  whom  he 
had  wounded  in  the  field.  All  these  were  of  Swedish 
or  Gothic  blood.  Then  he  attacked  the  vanguard  and 
burst  into  the  thickest  of  the  enemy,  driving  the  Swedes 
struggling  in  a  panic  every  way  with  spear  and  sword. 
It  had  all  but  come  to  a  flight,  when  Hagder  (Hadd), 
Rolder  (Hroald),  and  Grettir  attacked  the  champion, 
emulating  his  valour,  and  resolving  at  their  own  risk  to 
retrieve  the  general  ruin.  But,  fearing  to  assault  him  at 
close  quarters,  they  accomplished  their  end  with  arrows 
from,  afar;  and  thus  Ubbe  was  riddled  by  a  shower  of 
arrows,  no  one  daring  to  fight  him  hand  to  hand.  A 
hundred  and  forty-four  arrows  had  pierced  the  breast  of 
the  warrior  before  his  bodily  strength  failed  and  he  bent 
his  knee  to  the  earth.  Then  at  last  the  Danes  suffered 
a  great  defeat,  owing  to  the  Thronds  and  the  dwellers 
in  the  province  of  Dala.  For  the  battle  began  afresh  by 
reason  of  the  vast  mass  of  the  archers,  and  nothing  dam- 
aged our  men  more. 

But  when  Harald,  being  now  blind  with  age,  heard  the 
lamentable  murmur  of  his  men,  he  perceived  that  fortune 

480 


500a:  eight 

had  smiled  on  his  enemies.  So,  as  he  was  riding  in  a 
chariot  armed  with  scythes,  he  told  Brun,  who  was 
treacherously  acting  as  charioteer,  to  find  out  in  what 
manner  Ring  had  his  line  drawn  up.  Bnin's  face  re- 
laxed into  something  of  a  smile,  and  he  answered  that  he 
was  fighting  with  a  line  in  the  form  of  a  wedge.  When 
the  king  heard  this  he  began  to  be  alarmed,  and  to  ask 
in  great  astonishment  from  whom  Ring  could  have 
learnt  this  method  of  disposing  his  line,  especially  as 
Odin  was  the  discoverer  and  imparter  of  this  teaching, 
and  none  but  himself  had  ever  learnt  from  him  this  new 
pattern  of  warfare.  At  this  Brun  was  silent,  and  it  came 
into  the  king's  mind  that  here  was  Odin,  and  that  the 
god  whom  he  had  once  known  so  well  was  now  disguised 
in  a  changeful  shape,  in  order  either  to  give  help  or  with- 
hold it.  Presently  he  began  to  beseech  him  earnestly  to 
grant  the  final  victory  to  the  Danes,  since  he  had  helped 
them  so  graciously  before,  and  to  fill  up  his  last  kind- 
ness to  the  measure  of  the  first;  promising  to  dedicate 
to  him  as  a  gift  the  spirits  of  all  who  fell.  But  Brun, 
utterly  unmoved  by  his  entreaties,  suddenly  jerked  the 
king  out  of  the  chariot,  battered  him  to  the  earth,  plucked 
the  club  from  him  as  he  fell,  whirled  it  upon  his  head, 
and  slew  him  with  his  own  weapon.  Countless  corpses 
lay  round  the  king's  chariot,  and  the  horrid  heap  over- 
topped the  wheels;  the  pile  of  carcases  rose  as  high  as 
the  pole.  For  about  12.000  of  the  nobles  of  Ring  fell 
upon  the  field.  But  on  the  side  of  Harakl  about  30,000 
nobles  fell,  not  to  name  the  slaughter  of  the  commons. 
When  Ring  heard  that  Harald  was  dead,  he  gave  the 

481 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

signal  to  his  men  to  break  up  their  line  and  cease  fighting-. 
Then  under  cover  of  truce  he  made  treaty  with  the  enemy, 
telling  them  that  it  was  vain  to  prolong  the  fray  without 
their  captain.  Next  he  told  the  Swedes  to  look  every- 
where among  the  confused  piles  of  carcases  for  the  body 
of  Harald,  that  the  corpse  of  the  king  might  not  wrong- 
fully lack  its  due  rights.  So  the  populace  set  eagerly  to 
the  task  of  turning  over  the  bodies  of  the  slain,  and  over 
this  work  half  the  day  was  spent.  At  last  the  body  was 
found  with  the  club,  and  he  thought  that  propitiation 
should  be  made  to  the  shade  of  Harald.  So  he  harnessed 
the  horse  on  which  he  rode  to  the  chariot  of  the  king, 
decked  it  honourably  with  a  golden  saddle,  and  hallowed 
it  in  his  honour.  Then  he  proclaimed  his  vows,  and  added 
his  prayer  that  Harald  would  ride  on  this  and  outstrip 
those  who  shared  his  death  in  their  journey  to  Tartarus; 
and  that  he  would  pray  Pluto,  the  lord  of  Orcus,  to  grant 
a  calm  abode  there  for  friend  and  foe.  Then  he  raised 
a  pyre,  and  bade  the  Danes  fling  on  the  gilded  chariot 
of  their  king  as  fuel  to  the  fire.  And  while  the  flames 
were  burning  the  body  cast  upon  them,  he  went  round 
the  mourning  nobles  and  earnestly  charged  them  that 
they  should  freely  give  arms,  gold,  and  every  precious 
thing  to  feed  the  pyre  in  honour  of  so  great  a  king, 
who  had  deserved  so  nobly  of  them  all.  He  also  ordered 
that  the  ashes  of  his  body,  when  it  was  quite  burnt, 
should  be  transferred  to  an  urn,  taken  to  Leire,  and 
there,  together  with  the  horse  and  armour,  receive  a 
royal  funeral.  By  paying  these  due  rites  of  honour  to 
his  uncle's  shade,  he  won  the  favour  of  the  Danes,  and 

482  I 


BOOK  EIGHT 

turned  the  hate  of  his  enemies  into  goodwill.  Then  the 
Danes  besought  him  to  appoint  Hetha  over  the  remainder 
of  the  realm;  but,  that  the  fallen  strength  of  the  enemy 
might  not  suddenly  rally,  he  severed  Skaane  from  the 
mass  of  Denmark,  and  put  it  separately  under  the  gov- 
ernorship of  Ole,  ordering  that  only  Zealand  and  the  other 
lands  of  the  realm  should  be  subject  to  Hetha.  Thus 
the  changes  of  fortune  brought  the  empire  of  Denmark 
under  the  Swedish  rule.     So  ended  the  Bravic  war. 

But  the  Zealanders,  who  had  had  Harald  for  their 
captain,  and  still  had  the  picture  of  their  former  fortune 
hovering  before  their  minds,  thought  it  shameful  to  obey 
the  rule  of  a  woman,  and  appealed  to  Ole;  not  to  suffer 
men  that  had  been  used  to  serve  under  a  famous  king 
to  be  kept  under  a  woman's  yoke.  They  also  promised 
to  revolt  to  him  if  he  w-ould  take  up  arms  to  remove  their 
ignominious  lot.  Ole,  tempted  as  much  by  the  memory 
of  his  ancestral  glory  as  by  the  homage  of  the  soldiers, 
was  not  slow  to  answer  their  entreaties.  So  he  sum- 
moned Hetha,  and  forced  her  by  threats  rather  than  by 
arms  to  quit  every  region  under  her  control  except 
Jutland ;  and  even  Jutland  he  made  a  tributary  state, 
so  as  not  to  allow  a  wx)man  the  free  control  of  a  king- 
dom. He  also  begot  a  son  whom  he  named  Omund. 
But  he  was  given  to  cruelty,  and  showed  himself  such 
an  unrighteous  king,  that  all  who  had  found  it  a  shameful 
thing  to  be  ruled  by  a  queen  now  repented  of  their  former 
scorn. 

Twtlve    generals,    whether    moved    by    the    disasters 
of  their  country,  or  hating  Ole  for  some  other  reason, 

483 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

began  to  plot  against  his  life.  Among  these  were 
Hlenni,  Atyl,  Thott,  and  Withne,  the  last  of  whom  was 
a  Dane  by  birth,  though  he  held  a  government  among 
the  Sclavs.  Moreover,  not  trusting  in  their  strength  and 
their  cunning  to  accomplish  their  deed,  they  bribed 
Starkad  to  join  them.  He  was  prevailed  to  do  the  deed 
with  the  sword;  he  undertook  the  bloody  work,  and  re- 
solved to  attack  the  king  while  at  the  bath.  In  he  went 
while  the  king  was  washing,  but  was  straightway  stricken 
by  the  keenness  of  his  gaze  and  by  the  restless  and  quiver- 
ing glare  of  his  eyes.  His  limbs  were  palsied  with  sud- 
den dread;  he  paused,  stepped  back,  and  stayed  his  hand 
and  his  purpose.  Thus  he  who  had  shattered  the  arms 
of  so  many  captains  and  champions  could  not  bear  the 
gaze  of  a  single  unarmed  man.  But  Ole,  who  well  knew 
about  his  own  countenance,  covered  his  face,  and  asked 
him  to  come  closer  and  tell  him  what  his  message  was; 
for  old  fellowship  and  long-tried  friendship  made  him 
the  last  to  suspect  treachery.  But  Starkad  drew  his 
sword,  leapt  forward,  thrust  the  king  through,  and  struck 
him  in  the  throat  as  he  tried  to  rise.  One  hundred  and 
twenty  marks  of  gold  were  kept  for  his  reward.  Soon 
afterwards  he  was  smitten  with  remorse  and  shame,  and 
lamented  his  crime  so  bitterly,  that  he  could  not  refrain 
from  tears  if  it  happened  to  be  named.  Thus  his  soul, 
when  he  came  to  his  senses,  blushed  for  his  abominable 
sin.  Moreover,  to  atone  for  the  crime  he  had  committed, 
he  slew  some  of  those  who  had  inspired  him  to  it,  thus 
avenging  the  act  to  which  he  had  lent  his  hand. 

Now  the  Danes  made  Omund,  the  son  of  Ole,  king, 

484 


BOOK  EIGHT 

thinking  that  more  heed  should  be  paid  to  his  father's 
birth  than  to  his  deserts.  Omund,  when  he  had  grown 
lip,  fell  in  no  wise  behind  the  exploits  of  his  father;  for 
he  made  it  his  aim  to  equal  or  surpass  the  deeds  of  Ole. 

At  this  time  a  considerable  tribe  of  the  Northmen 
(Norwegians)  was  governed  by  Ring,  and  his  daughter 
Esa's  great  fame  commended  her  to  Omund,  who  was 
looking  out  for  a  wife. 

But  his  hopes  of  wooing  her  were  lessened  by  the 
peculiar  inclination  of  Ring,  who  desired  no  son-in-law 
but  one  of  tried  valour ;  for  he  found  as  much  honour  in 
arms  as  others  think  lies  in  wealth.  Omund  therefore, 
wishing  to  become  famous  in  that  fashion,  and  tQ  win  the 
praise  of  valour,  endeavoured  to  gain  his  desire  by  force, 
and  sailed  to  Norway  with  a  fleet,  to  make  an  attempt 
on  the  throne  of  Ring  under  plea  of  hereditary  right. 
Odd,  the  chief  of  Jather,  who  declared  that  Ring  had 
assuredly  seized  his  inheritance,  and  lamented  that  he 
harried  him  with  continual  wrongs,  received  Omund 
kindly.  Ring,  in  the  meantime,  was  on  a  roving  raid 
in  Ireland,  so  that  Omund  attacked  a  province  without  a 
defender.  Sparing  the  goods  of  the  common  people,  he 
gave  the  private  property  of  Ring  over  to  be  plundered, 
and  slew  his  kinsfolk ;  Odd  also  having  joined  his  forces 
to  Omund.  Now,  among  all  his  divers  and  manifold 
deeds,  he  could  never  bring  himself  to  attack  an  inferior 
force,  remembering  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  most  val- 
iant father,  and  that  he  was  bound  to  fight  armed  with 
courage,  and  not  with  numbers. 

Meanwhile  Ring  had  returned  from  roving ;  and  when 

13  485 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

Omund  heard  he  was  back,  he  set  to  and  built  a  vast 
ship,  whence,  as  from  a  fortress,  he  could  rain  his  missiles 
on  the  enemy.  To  manage  this  ship  he  enlisted  Homod 
and  Thole  the  rowers,  the  sons  of  Atyl  the  Skanian,  one 
of  whom  was  instructed  to  act  as  steersman,  while  the 
other  was  to  command  at  the  prow.  Ring  lacked  neither 
skill  nor  dexterity  to  encounter  them.  For  he  showed 
only  a  small  part  of  his  forces,  and  caused  the  enemy  to 
be  attacked  on  the  rear.  Omund.  when  told  of  his  strat- 
egy by  Odd,  sent  men  to  overpower  those  posted  in  am- 
bush, telling  Atyl  the  Skanian  to  encounter  Ring.  The 
order  was  executed  with  more  rashness  than  success ;  and 
Atyl,  with  his  power  defeated  and  shattered,  fled  beaten 
to  Skaane.  Then  Omund  recruited  his  forces  with  the 
help  of  Odd,  and  drew  up  his  fleet  to  fight  on  the 
open  sea. 

Atyl  at  this  time  had  true  visions  of  the  Norwegian 
war  in  his  dreams,  and  started  on  his  voyage  in  order 
to  make  up  for  his  flight  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  de- 
lighted Omund  by  joining  him  on  the  eve  of  battle. 
Trusting  in  his  help,  Omund  began  to  fight  with  equal 
confidence  and  success.  For,  by  fighting  himself,  he  re- 
trieved the  victory  which  he  had  lost  when  his  servants 
were  engaged.  Ring,  wounded  to  the  death,  gazed  at 
him  with  faint  eyes,  and,  beckoning  to  him  with  his  hand, 
as  well  as  he  could — for  his  voice  failed  him — he  be- 
sought him  to  be  his  son-in-law,  saying  that  he  would 
gladly  meet  his  end  if  he  left  his  daughter  to  such  a  hus- 
band. Before  he  could  receive  an  answer  he  died. 
Omund  wept   for  his   death,   and  gave  Homod,   whose 

486 


BOOK  EIGHT 

trusty  help  he  had  received  in  the  war,  in  marriage  to 
one  of  the  daughters  of  Ring,  taking  the  other  himself. 
At  the  same  time  the  amazon  Rusla,  whose  prowess 
in  warfare  exceeded  the  spirit  of  a  woman,  had  many 
fights  in  Norway  with  her  brother,  Thrond,  for  the  sov- 
ereignty. She  could  not  endure  that  Omund  rule  over 
the  Norwegians,  and  she  had  declared  war  against  all 
the  subjects  of  the  Danes.  Omund,  when  he  heard  of 
this,  commissioned  his  most  active  men  to  suppress  the 
rising.  Rusla  conquered  them,  and,  w^axing  haughty 
on  her  triumph,  was  seized  with  overweening  hopes,  and 
bent  her  mind  upon  actually  acquiring  the  sovereignty 
of  Denmark.  She  began  her  attack  on  the  region  of 
Halland,  but  was  met  by  Homod  and  Thode,  whom  the 
king  had  sent  over.  Beaten,  she  retreated  to  her  fleet, 
of  which  only  thirty  ships  managed  to  escape,  the  rest 
being  taken  by  the  enemy.  Thrond  encountered  his  sis- 
ter as  she  was  eluding  the  Danes,  but  was  conquered  by 
her  and  stripped  of  his  entire  army;  he  fled  over  the 
Dovrefjeld  without  a  single  companion.  Thus  she,  who 
had  first  yielded  before  the  Danes,  soon  overcame  her 
brother,  and  turned  her  flight  into  a  victory.  When 
Omund  heard  of  this,  he  went  back  to  Norway  with  a 
great  fleet,  first  sending  Homod  and  Thole  by  a  short 
and  secret  way  to  rouse  the  people  of  Tellemark  against 
the  rule  of  Rusla.  The  end  was  that  she  was  driven  out  of 
her  kingdom  by  the  commons,  fled  to  the  isles  for  safety, 
and  turned  her  back,  without  a  blow,  upon  the  Danes  as 
they  came  up.  The  king  pursued  her  hotly,  caught  up 
her  fleet  on  the  sea,  and  utterly  destroyed  it,  the  enemy 

487 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

suffered  mightily,  and  he  won  a  bloodless  victory  and 
splendid  spoils.  But  Rusla  escaped  with  a  very  few 
ships,  and  rowed  ploughing  the  waves  furiously;  but, 
while  she  was  avoiding  the  Danes,  she  met  her  brother 
and  was  killed.  So  much  more  effectual  for  harm  are 
dangers  unsurmised;  and  chance  sometimes  makes  the 
less  alarming  evil  worse  than  that  which  threatens.  The 
king  gave  Thrond  a  governorship  for  slaying  his  sister, 
put  the  rest  under  tribute,  and  returned  home. 

At  this  time  Thorias  (?)  and  Ber  (Biorn),  the  most 
active  of  the  soldiers  of  Rusla,  were  roving  in  Ireland; 
but  when  they  heard  of  the  death  of  their  mistress,  whom 
they  had  long  ago  sworn  to  avenge,  they  hotly  attacked 
Omund,  and  challenged  him  to  a  duel,  which  it  used  to 
be  accounted  shameful  for  a  king  to  refuse;  for  the  fame 
of  princes  of  old  was  reckoned  more  by  arms  than  by 
riches.  So  Homod  and  Thole  came  forward,  offering 
to  meet  in  battle  the  men  who  had  challenged  the  king. 
Omund  praised  them  warmly,  but  at  first  declined  for 
very  shame  to  allow  their  help.  At  last,  hard  besought 
by  his  people,  he  brought  himself  to  try  his  fortune  by  the 
hand  of  another.  We  are  told  that  Ber  fell  in  this  com- 
bat, while  Thorias  left  the  battle  severely  wounded.  The 
king,  having  first  cured  him  of  his  wounds,  took  him  into 
his  service,  and  made  him  prince  (earl)  over  Norway. 
Then  he  sent  ambassadors  to  exact  the  usual  tribute  from 
the  Sclavs;  these  were  killed,  and  he  was  even  attacked 
in  Jutland  by  a  Sclavish  force;  but  he  overcame  seven 
kings  in  a  single  combat,  and  ratified  by  conquest  his 
accustomed  right  to  tribute. 

488 


BOOK  EIGHT 


Meantime,  Starkad,  who  was  now  worn  out  with  ex- 
treme age,  and  who  seemed  to  be  past  mihtary  service 
and  the  calling  of  a  champion,  was  loth  to  lose  his  an- 
cient glor}'  through  the  fault  of  eld,  and  thought  it  would 
be  a   noble   thing  if   he  could   make  a   voluntary   end, 
and  hasten  his  death  by  his  own  free  will.     Having  so 
often  fought  nobly,  he  thought  it  would  be  mean  to  die 
a  bloodless  death;  and,  wishing  to  enhance  the  glory  of 
his  past  life  by  the  lustre  of  his  end,  he  preferred  to  be 
slain  by  some  man  of  gallant  birth  rather  than  await  the 
tardy  shaft  of  nature.     So  shameful  was  it  thought  that 
men  devoted  to  war  should  die  by  disease.     His  body 
was  weak,  and  his  eyes  could  not  see  clearly,  so  that  he 
hated  to  linger  any  more  in  life.     In  order  to  buy  him- 
self an  executioner,  he  wore  hanging  on  his  neck  the  gold 
which  he  had  earned  for  the  murder  of  Ole;  thinking 
there  w^as  no  fitter  way  of  atoning  for  the  treason  he  had 
done  than  to  make  the  price  of  Ole's  death  that  of  his 
own  also,  and  to  spend  on  the  loss  of  his  own  life  what 
he  had  earned   by  the   slaying  of  another.     This,    he 
thought,  would  be  the  noblest  use  he  could  make  of  that 
shameful  price.     So  he  girded  him  with  two  swords,  and 
guided  his  powerless  steps  leaning  on  two  staves. 

One  of  the  common  people,  seeing  him,  thinking  two 
swords  superfluous  for  the  use  of  an  old  man,  mockingly 
asked  him  to  make  him  a  present  of  one  of  them.  Star- 
kad, holding  out  hopes  of  consent,  bade  him  come  nearer, 
drew  the  sword  from  his  side,  and  ran  him  through. 
This  was  seen  by  a  certain  Hather,  whose  father  Hlenne 
Starkad  had  once  killed  in  repentance  for  his  owti  impious 

489 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

crime.  Hatlier  was  hunting  game  with  his  dogs,  but  now 
gave  over  the  chase,  and  bade  two  of  his  companions 
spur  their  horses  hard  and  charge  at  the  old  man  to 
frighten  him.  They  galloped  forward,  and  tried  to  make 
off,  but  were  stopped  by  the  staves  of  Starkad,  and  paid 
for  it  with  their  lives.  Hather,  terrified  by  the  sight, 
galloped  up  closer,  and  saw  who  the  old  man  was,  but 
without  being  recognized  by  him  in  turn;  and  asked  him 
if  he  would  like  to  exchange  his  sword  for  a  carriage. 
Starkad  replied  that  he  used  in  old  days  to  chastise  jeer- 
ers,  and  that  the  insolent  had  never  insulted  him  un- 
punished. But  his  sightless  eyes  could  not  recognize  the 
features  of  the  youth;  so  he  composed  a  song,  wherein 
he  should  declare  the  greatness  of  his  anger,  as  follows : 
"As  the  unreturning  waters  sweep  down  the  channel; 
so,  as  the  years  nm  by,  the  life  of  man  flows  on  never  to 
come  back;  fast  gallops  the  cycle  of  doom,  child  of  old 
age  who  shall  make  an  end  of  all.  Old  age  smites  alike 
the  eyes  and  the  steps  of  men,  robs  the  warrior  of  his 
speech  and  soul,  tarnishes  his  fame  by  slow  degrees,  and 
wipes  out  his  deeds  of  honour.  It  seizes  his  failing 
limbs,  chokes  his  panting  utterance,  and  numbs  his  nimble 
wit.  When  a  cough  is  taken,  when  the  skin  itches  with 
the  scab,  and  the  teeth  are  numb  and  hollow,  and  the 
stomach  turns  squeamish, — then  old  age  banishes  the 
grace  of  youth,  covers  the  complexion  with  decay,  and 
sows  many  a  wrinkle  in  the  dusky  skin.  Old  age  crushes 
noble  arts,  brings  down  the  memorials  of  men  of  old, 
and  scorches  ancient  glories  up ;  shatters  wealth,  hungrily 
gnaws  away  the  worth  and  good  of  virtue,  turns  athwart 
and  disorders  all  things. 


BOOK  EIGHT 

"I  myself  have  felt  the  hurtful  power  of  injurious  age, 
I,  dim-sighted,  and  hoarse  in  my  tones  and  in  my  chest; 
and  all  helpful  things  have  turned  to  my  hurt.     Now  my 
body  is  less  nimble,  and  I  prop  it  up,  leaning  my  faint 
limbs  on  the  support  of  staves.     Sightless  I  guide  my 
steps  with  two  sticks,  and  follow  the  short  path  which 
the  rod  shows  me,   trusting  more  in  the  leading   of  a 
stock  than  in  my  eyes.     None  takes  any  charge  of  me, 
and  no  man  in  the  ranks  brings  comfort  to  the  veteran, 
unless,  perchance,  Hather  is  here,  and  succours  his  shat- 
tered friend.     Whomsoever  Hather  once  thinks  worthy 
of  his  duteous  love,  that  man  he  attends  continually  with 
even  zeal,  constant  to  his  purpose,  and  fearing  to  break 
his  early  ties.     He  also  often  pays  fit  rewards  to  those 
that  have  deserved  well  in  war,  and  fosters  their  courage; 
he   bestows    dignities    on    the    brave,    and    honours    his 
famous  friends  with  gifts.  Free  with  his  wealth,  he  is  fain 
to  increase  with  bounty  the  brightness  of  his  name,  and 
to  surpass  many  of  the  mighty.     Nor  is  he  less  in  war: 
his  strength  is  equal  to  his  goodness;  he  is  swift  in  the 
fray,  slow  to  waver,  ready  to  give  battle;  and  he  cannot 
turn  his  back  when  the  foe  bears  him  hard.     But  for  me, 
if  I  remember  right,  fate  appointed  at  my  birth  that  wars 
I  should  follow  and  in  war  I  should  die,  that  I  should  mix 
in  broils,  watch  in  arms,  and  pass  a  life  of  bloodshed.     I 
was  a  man  of  camps,  and  rested  not ;  hating  peace,  I  grew 
old  imder  thy   standard,   O  War-god,  in  utmost  peril ; 
conquering  fear,  I  thought  it  comely  to  fight,  shameful 
to  loiter,  and  noble  to  kill  and  kill  again,  to  be  for  ever 
slaughtering!     Oft  have  I  seen  the  stern  kings  meet  in 

491 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

war,  seen  shield  and  helmet  bruised,  and  the  fields  redden 
with  blood,  and  the  cuirass  broken  by  the  spear-point,  and 
the  corselets  all  around  giving  at  the  thrust  of  the  steel, 
and  the  wild  beasts  battening  on  the  unburied  soldier. 
Here,  as  it  chanced,  one  that  attempted  a  mighty  thing, 
a  strong-handed  warrior,  fighting  against  the  press  of  the 
foe,  smote  through  the  mail  that  covered  my  head,  pierced 
my  helmet,  and  plunged  his  blade  into  my  crest.  This 
sword  also  hath  often  been  driven  by  my  right  hand 
in  war,  and,  once  unsheathed,  hath  cleft  the  skin  and  bit- 
ten into  the  skull." 

Hather,  in  answer,  sang  as  follows : 

"Whence  comest  thou,  who  art  used  to  write  the  poems 
of  thy  land,  leaning  thy  wavering  steps  on  a  frail  staff? 
Or  whither  dost  thou  speed,  who  art  the  readiest  bard  of 
the  Danish  muse?  All  the  glory  of  thy  great  strength 
is  faded  and  lost;  the  hue  is  banished  from  thy  face,  the 
joy  is  gone  out  of  thy  soul ;  the  voice  has  left  thy  throat, 
and  is  hoarse  and  dull ;  thy  body  has  lost  its  former 
stature;  the  decay  of  death  begins,  and  has  wasted  thy 
features  and  thy  force.  As  a  ship  wearies,  buffeted  by 
continual  billows,  even  so  old  age,  gendered  by  a  long 
course  of  years,  brings  forth  bitter  death;  and  the  life 
falls  when  its  strength  is  done,  and  suffers  the  loss  of  its 
ancient  lot.  Famous  old  man,  who  has  told  thee  that 
thou  mayst  not  duly  follow  the  sports  of  youth,  or  fling 
balls,  or  bite  and  eat  the  nut?  I  think  it  were  better  for 
thee  now  to  sell  thy  sword,  and  buy  a  carriage  wherein 
to  ride  often,  or  a  horse  easy  on  the  bit,  or  at  the  same 
cost  to  purchase  a  light  cart.    It  will  be  more  fitting  for 

492 


BOOK  EIGHT 

beasts  of  burden  to  carr^'  weak  old  men,  when  their  steps 
fail  them;  the  wheel,  driving  round  and  round,  serves 
for  him  whose  foot  totters  feebly.  But  if  perchance  thou 
art  loth  to  sell  the  useless  steel,  thy  sword,  if  it  be  not  for 
sale,  shall  be  taken  from  thee  and  shall  slay  thee." 

Starkad  answered :  "W'retch,  thy  glib  lips  scatter  idle 
words,  unfit  for  the  ears  of  the  good.  Why  seek  the 
gifts  to  reward  that  guidance,  which  thou  shouldst  have 
offered  for  naught?  Surely  I  will  walk  afoot,  and  will 
not  'basely  give  up  my  sword  and  buy  the  help  of  a 
stranger;  nature  has  given  me  the  right  of  passage,  and 
hath  bidden  me  trust  in  my  own  feet.  Why  mock  and 
jeer  with  insolent  speech  at  him  whom  thou  shouldst 
have  offered  to  guide  upon  his  way?  Why  give  to  dis- 
honour my  deeds  of  old,  which  deserve  the  memorial  of 
fame?  Why  requite  my  service  with  reproach?  A\'hy 
pursue  with  jeers  the  old  man  mighty  in  battle,  and  put 
to  shame  my  unsurpassed  honours  and  illustrious  deeds, 
belittling  my  glories  and  girding  at  my  prowess?  For 
what  valour  of  thine  dost  thou  demand  my  sword,  which 
thy  strength  does  not  deserve?  It  befits  not  the  right 
hand  or  the  unwarlike  side  of  a  herdsman,  who  is  wont  to 
make  his  peasant-music  on  the  pipe,  to  see  to  the  flock, 
'  to  keep  the  herds  in  the  fields.  Surely  among  the  hench- 
men, close  to  the  greasy  pot,  thou  dippest  thy  crust  in  the 
bubbles  of  the  foaming  pan.  drenching  a  meagre  slice  in 
the  rich,  oily  fat,  and  stealthily,  with  thirsty  finger,  lick- 
ing the  warm  juice;  more  skilled  to  spread  thy  accus- 
tomed cloak  on  the  ashes,  to  sleep  on  the  hearth,  and 
slumber  all  day  long,  and  go  busily  about  the  work  of  the 

493 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

reeking  kitchen,  thaA  to  make  the  brave  blood  flow  with 
thy  shafts  in  war.  Men  think  thee  a  hater  of  the  hght 
and  a  lover  of  a  filthy  hole,  a  wretched  slave  of  thy  belly, 
like  a  whelp  who  licks  the  coarse  grain,  husk  and  all. 

"By  heaven,  thou  didst  not  try  to  rob  me  of  my  sword 
when  thrice  at  great  peril  I  fought  (for?)  the  son  of  Ole. 
For  truly,  in  that  array,  my  hand  either  broke  the  sword 
or  shattered  the  obstacle,  so  heavy  was  the  blow  of  the 
smiter.  What  of  the  day  when  I  first  taught  them  to  run 
with  wood-shod  feet  over  the  shore  of  the  Kurlanders, 
and  the  path  bestrewn  with  countless  points?  For  when 
I  was  going  to  the  fields  studded  with  calthrops,  I  guarded 
their  wounded  feet  with  clogs  below  them.  After  this 
I  slew  Hame,  who  fought  me  mightily;  and  soon,  with 
the  captain  Rin  the  son  of  Flebak,  I  crushed  the  Kur- 
landers, yea,  or  all  the  tribes  Esthonia  breeds,  and  thy 
peoples,  O  Semgala !  Then  I  attacked  the  men  of  Telle- 
mark,  and  took  thence  my  head  bloody  with  bruises,  shat- 
tered with  mallets,  and  smitten  with  the  welded  weapons. 
Here  first  I  learnt  how  strong  was  the  iron  wrought  on 
the  anvil,  or  what  valour  the  common  people  had.  Also 
it  was  my  doing  that  the  Teutons  were  punished,  when, 
in  avenging  my  lord,  I  laid  low  over  their  cups  thy  sons, 
O  Swerting,  who  were  guilty  of  the  wicked  slaughter  of 
Frode. 

"Not  less  was  the  deed  when,  for  the  sake  of  a  beloved 
maiden,  I  slew  nine  brethren  in  one  fray; — witness  the 
spot,  which  was  consumed  by  the  bowels  that  left  me, 
and  brings  not  forth  the  grain  anew  on  its  scorched  sod. 
And  soon,  when  Ker  the  captain  made  ready  a  war  by 

494 


^OOK  EIGHT 

sea,  with  a  noble  army  we  beat  his  serried  ships.  Then 
I  put  Waske  to  death,  and  punished  the  insolent  smith 
by  slashing  his  hinder  parts;  and  with  the  sword  I  slew 
Wisin,  who  from  the  snowy  rocks  blunted  the  spears. 
Then  I  slew  the  four  sons  of  Ler,  and  the  champions  of 
Permland;  and  then  having  taken  the  chief  of  the  Irish 
race,  I  rifled  the  wealth  of  Dublin ;  and  our  courage  shall 
ever  remain  manifest  by  the  trophies  of  Bravalla.  \\'hy 
do  I  linger  ?  Countless  are  the  deeds  of  my  bravery,  and 
when  I  review  the  works  of  my  hands  I  fail  to  number 
them  to  the  full.  The  whole  is  greater  than  I  can  tell. 
My  work  is  too  great  for  fame,  and  speech  serves  not  for 
my  doings." 

So  sang  Starkad.  At  last,  when  he  found  by  their  talk 
that  Hather  was  the  son  of  Hlenne,  and  saw  that  the 
youth  was  of  illustrious  birth,  he  offered  him  his  throat 
to  smite,  bidding  him  not  to  shrink  from  punishing  the 
slayer  of  bis  father.  He  promised  him  that  if  he  did  so 
he  should  possess  the  gold  which  he  had  himself  re- 
ceived from  Hlenne.  And  to  enrage  his  heart  more  ve- 
hemently against  him,  he  is  said  to  have  harangued  him 
as  follows : 

"Moreover,  Hather,  I  robbed  thee  of  thy  father  Hlenne ; 
requite  me  this,  I  pray,  and  strike  down  the  old  man  who 
longs  to  die;  aim  at  my  throat  with  the  avenging  steel. 
For  my  soul  chooses  the  service  of  a  noble  smiter,  and 
shrinks  to  ask  its  doom  at  a  coward's  hand.  Righteously 
may  a  man  choose  to  forstall  the  ordinance  of  doom. 
What  cannot  be  escaped  it  will  be  lawful  also  to  antici- 
pate.    The  fresh  tree  must  be  fostered,  the  old  one  hewn 

495 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

down.  He  is  nature's  instrument  who  destroys  what  is 
near  its  doom  and  strikes  down  what  cannot  stand. 
Death  is  best  when  it  is  sought :  and  when  the  end  is  loved, 
Hfe  is  wearisome.  Let  not  the  troubles  of  age  prolong 
a  miserable  lot." 

So  saying,  he  took  money  from  his  pouch  and  gave  it 
him.  But  Hather,  desiring  as  much  to  enjoy  the  gold  as 
to  accomplish  vengeance  for  his  father,  promised  that  he 
would  comply  with  his  prayer,  and  would  not  refuse  the 
reward.  Starkad  eagerly  handed  him  the  sword,  and  at 
once  stooped  his  neck  beneath  it,  counselling  him  not  to 
do  the  smiter's  work  timidly,  or  use  the  sword  like  a 
woman;  and  telling  him  that  if,  when  he  had  killed  him, 
he  could  spring  between  the  head  and  the  trunk  before 
the  corpse  fell,  he  would  be  rendered  proof  against  arms. 
It  is  not  known  whether  he  said  this  in  order  to  instruct 
his  executioner  or  to  punish  him,  for  perhaps,  as  he  leapt, 
the  bulk  of  the  huge  body  would  have  crushed  him.  So 
Hather  smote  sharply  with  the  sword  and  hacked  off  the 
head  of  the  old  man.  When  the  severed  head  struck  the 
ground,  it  is  said  to  have  bitten  the  earth ;  thus  the  fury 
of  the  dying  lips  declared  the  fierceness  of  the  soul.  But 
the  smiter,  thinking  that  the  promise  hid  some  treachery, 
warily  refrained  from  leaping.  Had  he  done  so  rashly, 
perhaps  he  would  have  been  crushed  by  the  corpse  as  it 
fell,  and  have  paid  with  his  own  life  for  the  old  man's 
murder.  But  he  would  not  allow  so  great  a  champion 
to  lie  unsepulchred,  and  had  his  body  buried  in  the  field 
that  is  commonly  called  Rolung. 

Now  Omund,  as  I  have  heard,  died  most  tranquilly, 

496 


BOOK  EIGHT 

while  peace  was  unbroken,  leaving  two  sons  and  two 
daughters.  The  eldest  of  these,  Siward,  came  to  the 
throne  by  right  of  birth,  while  his  brother  Budle  was  still 
of  tender  years.  At  this  time  Gotar,  King  of  the  Swedes, 
conceived  boundless  love  for  one  of  the  daughters  of 
Omund,  because  of  the  report  of  her  extraordinary  beauty, 
and  entrusted  one  Ebb,  the  son  of  Sibb,  with  the  commis- 
sion of  asking  for  the  maiden.  Ebb  did  his  work  skil- 
fully, and  brought  back  the  good  news  that  the  girl  had 
cojisented.  Nothing  was  now  lacking  to  Gotar's  wishes 
but  the  w'edding;  but,  as  he  feared  to  hold  this  among 
strangers,  he  demanded  that  his  betrothed  should  be  sent 
to  him  in  charge  of  Ebb,  whom  he  had  before  used  as 
envoy. 

Ebb  was  crossing  Halland  with  a  very  small  escort,  and 
went  for  a  night's  lodging  to  a  country  farm,  w^here  the 
dw'ellings  of  two  brothers  faced  one  another  on  the  two 
sides  of  a  river.  Now  these  men  used  to  receive  folk 
hospitably  and  then  murder  them,  but  were  skilful  to 
hide  their  brigandage  under  a  show  of  generosity.  For 
they  had  hung  on  certain  hidden  chains,  in  a  lofty  part  of 
the  house,  an  oblong  beam  like  a  press,  and  furnished  it 
with  a  steel  point ;  they  used  to  lower  this  in  the  night  by 
letting  down  the  fastenings,  and  cut  off  the  heads  of 
those  that  lay  below.  Many  had  they  beheaded  in  this 
way  with  the  hanging  mass.  So  when  Ebb  and  his  men 
had  been  feasted  abundantly,  the  servants  laid  them  out 
a  bed  near  the  hearth,  so  that  by  the  swing  of  the  treach- 
erous beam  they  might  mow  off  their  heads,  which  faced 
the  fire.     When  they  departed,  Ebb,  suspecting  the  con- 

497 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

trivance  slung  overhead,  told  his  men  to  feign  slumber 
and  shift  their  bodies,  saying  that  it  would  be  very  whole- 
some for  them  to  change  their  place. 

Now  among  these  were  some  who  despised  the 
orders  which  the  others  obeyed,  and  lay  unmoved,  each 
in  the  spot  where  he  had  chanced  to  lie  down.  Then  to- 
wards the  mirk  of  night  the  heavy  hanging  machine  was 
set  in  motion  by  the  doers  of  the  treachery.  Loosened 
from  the  knots  of  its  fastening,  it  fell  violently  on  the 
ground,  and  slew  those  beneath  it.  Thereupon  those  who 
had  the  charge  of  committing  the  crime  brought  in  a 
light,  that  they  might  learn  clearly  what  had  happened, 
and  saw  that  Ebb,  on  whose  especial  account  they  had 
undertaken  the  affair,  had  wisely  been  equal  to  the  dan- 
ger. He  straightway  set  on  them  and  punished  them 
with  death ;  and  also,  after  losing  his  men  in  the  mutual 
slaughter,  he  happened  to  find  a  vessel,  crossed  a  river 
full  of  blocks  of  ice,  and  announced  to  Gotar  the  result, 
not  so  much  of  his  mission  as  of  his  mishap. 

Gotar  judged  that  this  affair  had  been  inspired  by 
Siward,  and  prepared  to  avenge  his  wrongs  by  arms. 
Siward,  defeated  by  him  in  Halland,  retreated  into  Jut- 
land, the  enemy  having  taken  his  sister.  Here  he  con- 
quered the  common  people  of  the  Sclavs,  who  ventured 
to  fight  without  a  leader;  and  he  won  as  much  honour 
from  this  victory  as  he  had  got  disgrace  by  his  flight. 
But  a  little  afterwards,  the  men  whom  he  had  subdued 
when  they  were  ungeneraled,  found  a  general  and  de- 
feated Siward  in  Funen.  Several  times  he  fought  them 
in  Jutland,  but  with  ill-success.     The  result  was  that  he 

498 


BOOK  EIGHT 

lost  both  Skaane  and  Jutland,  and  only  retained  the  mid- 
dle of  his  realm  without  the  head,  like  the  fragments  of 
some  body  that  had  been  consumed  away.  His  son 
Jarmerik  (Eormunrec),  with  his  child-sisters,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy ;  one  of  these  was  sold  to  the  Ger- 
mans, the  other  to  the  Norwegians ;  for  in  old  time  mar- 
riages were  matters  of  purchase.  Thus  the  kingdom 
of  the  Danes,  which  had  been  enlarged  with  such  valour, 
made  famous  by  such  ancestral  honours,  and  enriched 
by  so  many  conquests,  fell,  all  by  the  sloth  of  one  man, 
from  the  most  illustrious  fortune  and  prosperity  into  such 
disgrace  that  it  paid  the  tribute  which  it  used  to  exact. 
But  Siward,  too  often  defeated  and  guilty  of  shameful 
flights,  could  not  endure,  after  that  glorious  past,  to  hold 
the  troubled  helm  of  state  any  longer  in  this  shameful 
condition  of  his  land;  and,  fearing  that  living  longer 
might  strip  him  of  his  last  shred  of  glory,  he  hastened  to 
win  an  honourable  death  in  battle.  For  his  soul  could 
not  forget  his  calamity,  it  was  fain  to  cast  off  its  sick- 
ness, and  was  racked  with  weariness  of  life.  So  much 
did  he  abhor  the  light  of  life  in  his  longing  to  wipe  out 
his  shame.  So  he  mustered  his  army  for  battle,  and 
openly  declared  war  with  one  Simon,  who  was  governor 
of  Skaane  under  Gotar.  This  war  he  pursued  with  stub- 
born rashness ;  he  slew  Simon,  and  ended  his  own  life 
amid  a  great  slaughter  of  his  foes.  Yet  his  country 
could  not  be  freed  from  the  burden  of  the  tribute. 

Jarmerik,  meantime,  with  his  foster-brother  of  the 
same  age  as  himself,  Gunn,  was  living  in  prison,  in  charge 
of  Ismar,  the  King  of  the  Sclavs.     At  last  he  was  taken 

499 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

out  and  put  to  agriculture,  doing  the  work  of  a  peasant. 
So  actively  did  he  manage  this  matter  that  he  was  trans- 
ferred and  made  master  of  the  royal  slaves.  As  he  like- 
wise did  this  business  most  uprightly,  he  was  enrolled  in 
the  band  of  the  king's  retainers.  Here  he  bore  himself 
most  pleasantly  as  courtiers  use,  and  was  soon  taken 
into  the  number  of  the  king's  friends  and  obtained  the 
first  place  in  his  intimacy ;  thus,  on  the  strength  of  a  series 
of  great  services,  he  passed  from,  the  lowest  estate  to  the  ^ 
most  distinguished  height  of  honour.  Also,  loth  to  live 
a  slack  and  enfeebled  youth,  he  trained  himself  to  the 
pursuits  of  war,  enriching  his  natural  gifts  by  diligence. 
All  men  loved  Jarmerik,  and  only  the  queen  mistrusted 
the  young  man's  temper.  A  sudden  report  told  them 
that  the  king's  brother  had  died.  Ismar,  wishing  to  give 
his  body  a  splendid  funeral,  prepared  a  banquet  of  royal 
bounty  to  increase  the  splendour  of  the  obsequies. 

But  Jarmerik,  who  used  at  other  times  to  look  after  the 
household  affairs  together  with  the  queen,  began  to  cast 
about  for  means  of  escape;  for  a  chance  seemed  to  be 
offered  by  the  absence  of  thelcing.  For  he  saw  that  even 
in  the  lap  of  riches  he  would  be  the  wretched  thrall  of  a 
king,  and  that  he  would  draw,  as  it  were,  his  very  breath 
on  sufferance  and  at  the  gift  of  another.  Moreover,  though 
he  held  the  highest  offices  with  the  king,  he  thought  that  '. 
freedom  was  better  than  delights,  and  burned  with  a 
mighty  desire  to  visit  his  country  and  learn  his  lineage. 
But,  knowing  that  the  queen  had  provided  sufficient 
guards  to  see  that  no  prisoner  escaped,  he  saw  that  he 
must  approach  by  craft  where  he  could  not  arrive  by 

500 


BOOK  EIGHT 

force.  So  he  plaited  one  of  those  baskets  of  rushes  and 
withies,  shaped  hke  a  man,  with  which  countrymen  used 
to  scare  the  birds  from  the  corn,  and  put  a  live  dog  in  it; 
then  he  took  off  his  own  clothes,  and  dressed  it  in  them, 
to  give  a  more  plausible  likeness  to  a  human  being.  Then 
he  broke  into  the  private  treasury  of  the  king,  took  out 
the  money,  and  hid  himself  in  places  of  which  he  alone 
knew. 

Meantime  Gunn,  whom  he  had  told  to  conceal 
the  absence  of  his  friend,  took  the  basket  into  the  palace 
and  stirred  up  the  dog  to  bark;  and  when  the  queen 
asked  what  this  was,  he  answered  that  Jarmerik  was  out 
of  his  mind  and  howling.  She,  beholding  the  effigy,  was 
deceived  by  the  likeness,  and  ordered  that  the  madman 
should  be  cast  out  of  the  house.  Then  Gunn  took  the 
effigy  out  and  put  it  to  bed,  as  though  it  were  his  dis- 
traught friend.  But  towards  night  he  plied  the  watch 
bountifully  with  wine  and  festal  mirth,  cut  off  their 
heads  as  they  slept,  and  set  them  at  their  groins,  in  order 
to  make  their  slaying  more  shameful.  The  queen,  roused 
by  the  din,  and  wishing  to  learn  the  reason  of  it,  hastily 
rushed  to  the  doors.  But  while  she  unwarily  put  forth 
her  head,  the  sword  of  Gunn  suddenly  pierced  her 
through.  Feeling  a  mortal  wound,  she  sank,  turned  her 
eyes  on  her  murderer,  and  said,  "Had  it  been  granted  me 
to  live  unscathed,  no  screen  or  treachery  should  have  let 
thee  leave  this  land  unpunished."  A  flood  of  such  threats 
against  her  slayer  poured  from  her  dying  lips. 

Then  Jarmerik,  with  Gunn,  the  partner  of  his  noble 
deed,  secretly  set  fire  to  the  tent  wherein  the  king  was 

14  501 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

celebrating  with  a  banquet  the  obsequies  of  his  brother ;  all 
the  company  were  overcome  with  liquor.    The  fire  filled 
the  tent  and  spread  all  about ;  and  some  of  them,  shaking 
off  the  torpor  of  drink,  took  horse  and  pursued  those  who 
had  endangered  them.   But  the  young  men  fled  at  first  on 
the  beasts  they  had  taken;  and  at  last,  when  these  were 
exhausted  with  their  long  gallop,  took  to  flight  on  foot. 
They  were  all  but  caught,  when  a  river  saved  them.    For 
they  crossed  a  bridge,  of  which,   in  order  to  delay  the 
pursuer,  they  first  cut  the  timbers  down  to  the  middle, 
thus  making  it  not  only  unequal  to  a  burden,  but  ready 
to  come  down;  then  they  retreated  into  a  dense  morass. 
The  Sclavs  pressed  on  them  hard  and,  not  forseeing 
the  danger,    unwarily   put   the   weight   of   their   horses 
on  the  bridge;  the  flooring  sank,  and  they  were  shaken 
off  and  flung  into  the  river.     But,  as  they  swam  up  to 
the  bank,  they  were  met  by  Gunn  and  Jarmerik,  and  either 
drowned  or  slain.     Thus  the  young  men  showed  great 
cunning,  and  did  a  deed  beyond  their  years,  being  more 
like  sagacious  old  men  than  runaway  slaves,  and  success- 
fully achieving  their  shrewd  design.     When  they  reached 
the  strand  they  seized  a  vessel  chance  threw  in  their  way, 
and  made  for  the  deep.     The  barbarians  who  pursued 
them,  tried,  when  they  saw  them  sailing  off,  to  bring 
them'  back  by  shouting  promises  after  them  that  they 
should  be  kings  if  they  returned;  "for,   by  the  public 
statute  of  the  ancients,  the  succession  was  appointed  to 
the  slayers  of  the  kings,"     As  they  retreated,  their  ears 
were  long  deafened  by  the  Sclavs  obstinately  shouting 
their  treacherous  promises. 

502 


BOOK  EIGHT 

At  this  time  Budle,  the  brother  of  Siward,  was  Regent 
over  the  Danes,  who  forced  him  to  make  over  the  king- 
dom to  Jarmerik  when  he  came;  so  that  Budle  fell  from 
a  king  into  a  common  man.  At  the  same  time  Gotar 
charged  Sibb  with  debauching  his  sister,  and  slew  him. 
Sibb's  kindred,  much  angered  by  his  death,  came  wailing 
to  Jarmerik,  and  promised  to  attack  Gotar  with  him,  in 
order  to  avenge  their  kinsman.  They  kept  their  promise 
well,  for  Jarmerik,  having  overthrown  Gotar  by  their 
help,  gained  Sweden.  Thus,  holding  the  sovereignty  of 
both  nations,  he  was  encouraged  by  his  increased  power 
to  attack  the  Sclavs,  forty  of  whom  he  took  and  hung 
with  a  wolf  tied  to  each  of  them.  This  kind  of  punish- 
ment was  assigned  of  old  to  those  who  slew  their  own 
kindred;  but  he  chose  to  inflict  it  upon  enemies,  that  all 
might  see  plainly,  just  from  their  fellowship  with  ruth- 
less beasts,  how  grasping  they  had  shown  themselves 
towards  the  Danes. 

When  Jarmerik  had  conquered  the  countr}',  he 
posted  garrisons  in  all  the  fitting  places,  and  departing 
thence,  he  made  a  slaughter  of  the  Sembs  and  the  Kur- 
landers,  and  many  nations  of  the  East.  The  Sclavs, 
thinking  that  this  employment  of  the  king  gave  them  a 
•*  chance  of  revolting,  killed  the  governors  whom  he  had 
appointed,  and  ravaged  Denmark.  Jarmerik,  on  his  way 
back  from  roving,  chanced  to  intercept  their  fleet,  and 
dstroyed  it,  a  deed  which  added  honour  to  his  roll  of  con- 
quests. He  also  put  their  nobles  to  death  in  a  way  that 
one  would  weep  to  see;  namely,  by  first  passing  thongs 
through  their  legs,  and  then  tying  them  to  the  hoofs  of 

503 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

savage  bulls ;  then  hounds  set  on  them  and  dragged  them 
into  miry  swamps.  This  deed  took  the  edge  off  the 
valour  of  the  Sclavs,  and  they  obeyed  the  authority  of 
the  king  in  fear  and  trembling. 

Jarmerik,  enriched  with  great  spoils,  wished  to  provide 
a  safe  storehouse  for  his  booty,  and  built  on  a  lofty 
hill  a  treasure-house  of  marvellous  handiwork.  Gather- 
ing sods,  he  raised  a  mound,  laying  a  mass  of  rocks  for 
the  foundation,  and  girt  the  lower  part  with  a  rampart, 
the  centre  with  rooms,  and  the  top  with  battlements. 
All  round  he  posted  a  line  of  sentries  without  a  break. 
Four  huge  gates  gave  free  access  on  the  four  sides;  and 
into  this  lordly  mansion  he  heaped  all  his  splendid  riches. 
Having  thus  settled  his  affairs  at  home,  he  again  turned 
his  ambition  abroad.  He  began  to  voyage,  and  speedily 
fought  a  naval  battle  with  four  brothers  whom  he  met  on 
the  high  seas,  Hellespontines  by  race,  and  veteran  rovers. 
After  this  battle  had  lasted  three  days,  he  ceased  fight- 
ing, having  bargained  for  their  sister  and  half  the  tribute 
which  they  had  imposed  on  those  they  had  conquered. 

After  this,  Bikk,  the  son  of  the  King  of  the  Livonians, 
escaped  from  the  captivity  in  which  he  lay  under  these 
said  brothers,  and  went  to  Jarmerik.  But  he  did  not  for- 
get his  wrongs,  Jarmerik  having  long  before  deprived  him 
of  his  own  brothers.  He  was  received  kindly  by  the  king, 
in  all  whose  secret  counsels  he  soon  came  to  have  a  notable 
voice ;  and,  as  soon  as  he  found  the  king  pliable  to  his  ad- 
vice in  all  things,  he  led  him,  when  his  counsel  was  asked, 
into  the  most  abominable  acts,  and  drove  him  to  commit 
crimes  and  infamies.     Thus  he   sought  some  device  to 

504 


BOOK  EIGHT 

injure  the  king  by  a  feint  of  loyalty,  and  tried  above  all 
to  steel  him  against  his  nearest  of  blood;  attempting  to 
accomplish  the  revenge  of  his  brother  by  guile,  since  he 
could  not  by  force.  So  it  came  to  pass  that  the  king  em- 
braced filthy  vices  instead  of  virtues,  and  made  himself 
generally  hated  by  the  cruel  deeds  which  he  committed 
at  the  instance  of  his  treacherous  adviser.  Even  the 
Sclavs  began  to  rise  against  him ;  and,  as  a  means  of 
quelling  them,  he  captured  their  leaders,  passed  a  rope 
through  their  shanks,  and  delivered  them  to  be  torn  asun- 
der by  horses  pulling  different  ways.  So  perished  their 
chief  men,  punished  for  their  stubbornness  of  spirit  by 
having  their  bodies  rent  apart.  This  kept  the  Sclavs 
"duly  obedient  in  unbroken  and  steady  subjugation. 

Meantime,  the  sons  of  Jarmerik's  sister,  who  had  all 
been  born  and  bred  in  Germany,  took  up  arms,  on  the 
strength  of  their  grandsire's  title,  against  their  uncle, 
contending  that  they  had  as  good  a  right  to  the  throne  as 
he.  The  king  demolished  their  strongholds  in  Germany 
with  engines,  blockaded  or  took  several  towns,  and  re- 
turned home  with  a  bloodless  victory.  The  Hellespon- 
tines  came  to  meet  him,  proffering  their  sister  for  the 
promised  marriage.  After  this  had  been  celebrated,  at 
Bikk's  prompting  he  again  went  to  Germany,  took  his 
nephews  in  war,  and  incontinently  hanged  them.  He 
also  got  together  the  chief  men  under  the  pretence  of  a 
banquet  and  had  them  put  to  death  in  the  same  fashion. 

Meantime,  the  king  appointed  Broder.  his  son  by  an- 
other marriage,  to  have  charge  over  his  stepmother,  a  duty 
which  he  fulfilled  with  full  vigilance  and  integrity.     But 

505 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

Bikk  accused  this  man  to  his  father  of  incest;  and,  to 
conceal  the  falsehood  of  the  charge,  suborned  witnesses 
against  him.  When  the  plea  of  the  accusation  had  been 
fully  declared,  Broder  could  not  bring  any  support  for  his 
defence,  and  his  father  bade  his  friends  pass  sentence 
upon  the  convicted  man,  thinking  it  less  impious  to  com- 
mit the  punishment  proper  for  his  son  to  the  judgment  of 
others.  All  thought  that  he  deserved  outlawry  except 
Bikk,  who  did  not  shrink  from  giving  a  more  terrible  vote 
against  his  life,  and  declaring  that  the  perpetrator  of  an 
infamous  seduction  ought  to  be  punished  with  hanging. 
But  lest  any  should  think  that  this  punishment  was  due 
to  the  cruelty  of  his  father,  Bikk  judged  that,  when  he 
had  been  put  in  the  noose,  the  servants  should  hold  him 
up  on  a  beam  put  beneath  him,  so  that,  when  weariness 
made  them  take  their  hands  from  the  burden,  they  might 
be  as  good  as  guilty  of  the  young  man's  death,  and  by 
their  own  fault  exonerate  the  king  from  an  unnatural 
murder.  He  also  pretended  that,  unless  the  accused  were 
punished,  he  would  plot  against  his  father's  life.  The 
adulteress  Swanhild,  he  said,  ought  to  suffer  a  shameful 
end,  trampled  under  the  hoofs  of  beasts. 

The  king  yielded  to  Bikk ;  and,  when  his  son  was  to  be 
hanged,  he  made  the  bystanders  hold  him  up  by  means 
of  a  plank,  that  he  might  not  be  choked.  Thus  his  throat 
was  only  a  little  squeezed,  the  knot  was  harmless,  and  it 
was  but  a  punishment  in  show.  But  the  king  had  the 
queen  tied  very  tight  on  the  ground,  and  delivered  her 
to  be  crushed  under  the  hoofs  of  horses.  The  story  goes 
that  she  was  so  beautiful,  that  even  the  beasts  shrank 

506 


BOOK  EIGHT 

from  mangling  limbs  so  lovely  with  their  filthy  feet.  The 
king,  divining  that  this  proclaimed  the  innocence  of  his 
wife,  began  to  repent  of  his  error,  and  hastened  to  re- 
lease the  slandered  lady.  But  meantime  Bikk  rushed  up, 
declaring  that  when  she  was  on  her  back  she  held  off  the 
beasts  by  awful  charms,  and  could  only  be  crushed  if  she 
lay  on  her  face ;  for  he  knew  that  her  beauty  saved  her. 
When  the  body  of  the  queen  w^as  placed  in  this  manner, 
the  herd  of  beasts  was  driven  upon  it,  and  trod  it  down 
deep  with  their  multitude  of  feet.  Such  was  the  end  of 
Swanhild. 

Meantime,  the  favourite  dog  of  Broder  came  creeping 
to  the  king  making  a  sort  of  moan,  and  seemed  to  bewail 
its  master's  punishment;  and  his  hawk,  when  it  was 
brought  in,  began  to  pluck  out  its  breast-feathers  with  its 
beak.  The  king  took  its  nakedness  as  an  omen  of  his 
bereavement,  to  frustrate  which  he  quickly  sent  men  to 
take  his  son  down  from  the  noose :  for  he  divined  by  the 
featherless  bird  that  he  would  be  childless  unless  he  took 
good  heed.  Thus  Broder  was  freed  from  death,  and 
Bikk,  fearing  he  would  pay  the  penalty  of  an  informer, 
went  and  told  the  men  of  the  Hellespont  that  Swanhild 
had  been  abominably  slain  by  her  husband.  When 
they  set  sail  to  avenge  their  sister,  he  came  back  to 
Jarmerik,  and  told  him  that  the  Hellespontines  were  pre- 
paring war. 

The  king  thought  that  it  would  be  safer  to  fight  with 
walls  than  in  the  field,  and  retreated  into  the  stronghold 
which  he  had  built.  To  stand  the  siege,  he  filled  its  inner 
parts  with  stores,  and  its  battlements  with  men-at-arms. 

507 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

Targets  and  shields  flashing  with  gold  were  hung  round 
and  adorned  the  topmost  circle  of  the  building. 

It  happened  that  the  Hellespontines,  before  sharing  their 
booty,  accused  a  great  band  of  their  men  of  embezzling, 
and  put  them  to  death.  Having  now  destroyed  so  large 
a  part  of  their  forces  by  internecine  slaughter,  they 
thought  that  their  strength  was  not  equal  to  storming 
the  palace,  and  consulted  a  sorceress  named  Gudrun.  She 
brought  it  to  pass  that  the  defenders  of  the  king's  side 
were  suddenly  blinded  and  turned  their  arms  against  one 
another.  When  the  Hellespontines  saw  this,  they  brought 
up  a  shield-mantlet,  and  seized  the  approaches  of  the 
gates.  Then  they  tore  up  the  posts,  burst  into  the  build- 
ing, and  hewed  down  the  blinded  ranks  of  the  enemy. 
In  this  uproar  Odin  appeared,  and,  making  for  the  thick 
of  the  ranks  of  the  fighters,  restored  by  his  divine  power 
to  the  Danes  that  vision  wdiich  they  had  lost  by  sleights ; 
for  he  ever  cherished  them  with  fatherly  love.  He  in- 
structed them  to  shower  stones  to  batter  the  Hellespon- 
tines, who  used  spells  to  harden  their  bodies  against 
weapons.  Thus  both  companies  slew  one  another  and 
perished.  Jarmerik  lost  both  feet  and  both  hands,  and 
his  trunk  was  rolled  among  the  dead.  Broder,  little  fit 
for  it,  followed  him  as  king. 

The  next  king  was  SiwaIvD.  His  son  Snio  took  vig- 
orously to  roving  in  his  father's  old  age,  and  not  only 
preserved  the  fortunes  of  his  country,  but  even  restored 
them,  lessened  as  they  Avere,  to  their  former  estate.  Like- 
wise, when  he  came  to  the  sovereignty,  he  crushed  the 
insolence  of  the  champions  Eskil  and  Alkil,  and  by  this 

508 


BOOK  EIGHT 

conquest  reunited  to  his  country  Skaane,  which  had  been 
severed  from  the  general  jurisdiction  of  Denmark.  At 
last  he  conceived  a  passion  for  the  daughter  of  the  King 
of  the  Goths;  it  was  returned,  and  he  sent  secret  mes- 
sengers to  seek  a  chance  of  meeting  her.  These  men 
were  intercepted  by  the  father  of  the  damsel  and  hanged  : 
thus  paying  dearly  for  their  rash  mission.  Snio,  wishing 
to  avenge  their  death,  invaded  Gothland.  Its  king  met 
him  with  his  forces,  and  the  aforesaid  champions  chal- 
lenged him  to  send  strong  men  to  fight.  Snio  laid  down 
as  condition  of  the  duel,  that  each  of  the  two  kings  should 
either  lose  his  own  empire  or  gain  that  of  the  other,  ac- 
cording to  the  fortune  of  the  champions,  and  that  the 
kingdom  of  the  conquered  should  be  staked  as  the  prize 
of  the  victory.  The  result  was  that  the  King  of  the  Goths 
was  beaten  by  reason  of  the  ill-success  of  his  defenders, 
and  had  to  quit  his  kingdom  for  the  Danes.  Snio,  learn- 
ing that  this  king's  daughter  had  been  taken  away  at  the 
instance  of  her  father  to  wed  the  King  of  the  Swedes, 
sent  a  man  clad  in  ragged  attire,  who  used  to  ask  alms 
on  the  public  roads,  to  try  her  mind.  And  while  he  lay, 
as  beggars  do,  by  the  threshold,  he  chanced  to  see  the 
queen,  and  whined  in  a  weak  voice,  '*Snio  loves  thee." 
She  feigned  not  to  have  heard  the  sound  that  stole  on  her 
ears,  and  neither  looked  nor  stepped  back,  but  went  on 
to  the  palace,  then  returned  straightway,  and  said  in 
a  low  whisper,  which  scarcely  reached  his  ears,  "I  love 
him  who  loves  me" ;  and  having  said  this  she  walked 
away. 

The  beggar  rejoiced  that  she  had  returned  a  word  of 

509 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

love,  and,  as  he  sat  on  the  next  day  at  the  gate,  when  the 
queen  came  up,  he  said,  briefly  as  ever,  "Wishes  should 
have  a  tryst."  Again  she  shrewdly  caught  his  cunning 
speech,  and  passed  on,  dissembling  wholly.  A  little  later 
she  passed  by  her  questioner,  and  said  that  she  would 
shortly  go  to  Bocheror;  for  this  was  the  spot  to  which 
she  meant  tO'  flee.  And  when  the  beggar  heard  this,  he 
insisted,  with  his  wonted  shrewd  questions,  upon  being 
told  a  fitting  time  for  the  tryst.  The  woman  was  as  cun- 
ning as  he,  and  as  little  clear  of  speech,  and  named  as 
quickly  as  she  could  the  beginning  of  the  winter. 

Her  train,  who  had  caught  a  flying  word  of  this  love- 
message,  took  her  great  cleverness  for  the  raving  of  utter 
folly.  And  when  Snio  had  been  told  all  this  by  the 
beggar,  he  contrived  to  carry  the  queen  off  in  a  vessel ; 
for  she  got  away  under  pretence  of  bathing,  and  took  her 
husband's  treasures.  After  this  there  were  constant  wars 
between  Snio  and  the  King  of  Sweden,  whereof  the  issue 
was  doubtful  and  the  victory  changeful ;  the  one  king 
seeking  to  regain  his  lawful,  the  other  to  keep  his  unlaw- 
ful love. 

At  this  time  the  yield  of  crops  was  ruined  by  most 
inclement  weather,  and  a  mighty  dearth  of  corn  befell. 
Victuals  began  to  be  scarce,  and  the  commons  were  dis- 
tressed with  famine,  so  that  the  king,  anxiously  ponder- 
ing how  to  relieve  the  hardness  of  the  times,  and  seeing 
that  the  thirsty  spent  somewhat  more  than  the  hungry, 
introduced  thrift  among  the  people.  He  abolished  drink- 
ing-bouts, and  decreed  that  no  drink  should  be  prepared 
from  gram,  thinking  that  the  bitter  famine  should  be  got 

510 


BOOK  EIGHT 

rid  of  by  prohibiting  needless  drinking,  and  that  plentiful 
food  could  be  levied  as  a  loan  on  thirst. 

Then  a  certain  wanton  slave  of  his  belly,  lamenting 
the  prohibition  against  drink,  adopted  a  deep  kind  o'l 
knavery,  and  found  a  new  way  to  indulge  his  desires.  He 
broke  the  public  law  of  temperance  by  his  own  excess, 
contriving  to  get  at  what  he  loved  by  a  device  both  cunning 
and  absurd.  For  he  sipped  the  forbidden  liquor  drop  by 
drop,  and  so  satisfied  his  longing  to  be  tipsy,  ^^'hen  he 
was  summoned  for  this  by  the  king,  he  declared  that  there 
was  no  stricter  observer  of  sobriety  than  he,  inasmuch 
as  he  mortified  his  longing  to  quaff  deep  by  this  device 
for  moderate  drinking.  He  persisted  in  the  fault  with 
which  he  was  taxed,  saying  that  he  only  sucked.  At  last 
he  was  also  menaced  with  threats,  and  forbidden  not  only 
to  drink,  but  even  to  sip ;  yet  he  could  not  check  his  habits. 
For  in  order  to  enjoy  the  unlawful  thing  in  a  lawful  way, 
and  not  to  have  his  throat  subject  to  the  command  of  an- 
other, he  sopped  morsels  of  bread  in  liquor,  and  fed  on 
the  pieces  thus  soaked  with  drink ;  tasting  slowly,  so  as  to 
prolong  the  desired  debauch,  and  attaining,  though  in  no 
unlawful    manner,    the    forbidden    measure    of    satiety. 

Thus  his  stubborn  and  frantic  intemperance  risked  his 
life,  all  for  luxury;  and,  undeterred  even  by  the  threats 
of  the  king,  he  fortified  his  rash  appetite  to  despise  every 
peril.  A  second  time  he  was  summoned  by  the  king  on 
the  charge  of  disobeying  his  regulation.  Yet  he  did  not 
even  then  cease  to  defend  his  act,  but  maintained  that  he 
had  in  no  wise  contravened  the  royal  decree,  and  that  the 
temperance  prescribed  by  the  ordinance  had  been  in  no 

511 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

way  violated  by  that  which  ahured  him;  especially  as  the 
thrift  ordered  in  the  law  of  plain  living  was  so  described, 
that  it  was  apparently  forbidden  to  drink  liquor,  but  not 
to  eat  it.  Then  the  king  called  heaven  to  witness,  and 
swore  by  the  general  good,  that  if  he  ventured  on  any 
such  thing  hereafter  he  would  punish  him  with  death. 
But  the  man  thought  that  death  was  not  so  bad  as  temper- 
ance, and  that  it  was  easier  to  quit  life  than  luxury;  and 
he  again  boiled  the  grain  in  water,  and  then  fermented 
the  liquor;  whereupon,  despairing  of  any  further  plea 
to  excuse  his  appetite,  he  openly  indulged  in  drink,  and 
turned  to  his  cups  again  unabashed.  Giving  up  cunning 
for  effrontery,  he  chose  rather  to  await  the  punishment  of 
the  king  than  to  turn  sober.  Therefore,  when  the  king 
asked  him  why  he  had  so  often  made  free  to  use  the  for- 
bidden thing,  he  said : 

"O  king,  this  craving  is  begotten,  not  so  much  of  my 
thirst,  as  of  my  goodwill  towards  thee!  For  I  remem- 
bered that  the  funeral  rites  of  a  king  must  be  paid  with  a 
drinking-bout.  Therefore,  led  by  good  judgment  more 
than  the  desire  to  swill,  I  have,  by  mixing  the  forbidden 
liquid,  taken  care  that  the  feast  whereat  thy  obsequies  are 
performed  should  not,  by  reason  of  the  scarcity  of  corn, 
lack  the  due  and  customary  drinking.  Now  I  do  not 
doubt  that  thou  wilt  perish  of  famine  before  the  rest, 
and  be  the  first  to  need  a  tomb;  for  thou  hast  passed  this 
strange  law  of  thrift  in  fear  that  thou  wilt  be  thyself 
the  first  to  lack  food.  Thou  art  thinking  for  thyself, 
and  not  for  others,  when  thou  br ingest  thyself  to  start 
such  strange  miserly  ways." 

512 


BOOK  EIGHT 

This  witty  quibbling  turned  the  anger  of  the  king  into 
shame ;  and  when  he  saw  that  his  ordinance  for  the  general 
good  came  home  in  mockery  to  himself,  he  thought  no 
more  of  the  public  profit,  but  revoked  the  edict,  relaxing 
his  purpose  sooner  than  anger  his  subjects. 

Whether  it  was  that  the  soil  had  too  little  rain,  or  that 
it  was  too  hard  baked,  the  crops,  as  I  have  said,  were 
slack,  and  the  fields  gave  but  little  produce;  so  that  the 
land  lacked  victual,  and  was  worn  with  a  weary  famine. 
The  stock  of  food  began  to  fail,  and  no  help  was  left  to 
stave  off  hunger.  Then,  at  the  proposal  of  Agg  and  of 
Ebb,  it  was  provided  by  a  decree  of  the  people  that  the 
old  men  and  the  tiny  children  should  be  slain;  that  all 
who  were  too  young  to  bear  arms  should  be  taken  out  of 
the  land,  and  only  the  strong  should  be  vouchsafed  their 
own  country ;  that  none  but  able-bodied  soldiers  and  hus- 
bandmen should  contiue  to  abide  under  their  own  roofs 
and  in  the  houses  of  their  fathers.  When  Agg  and  Ebb 
brought  news  of  this  to  their  mother  Gambaruk,  she  saw 
that  the  authors  of  this  infamous  decree  liad  found  safety 
in  crime.  Condemning  the  decision  of  the  assembly,  she 
said  that  it  was  wrong  to  relieve  distress  by  murder  of 
kindred,  and  declared  that  a  plan  both  more  honourable 
and  more  desirable  for  the  good  of  their  souls  and  bodies 
would  be,  to  preserve  respect  towards  their  parents  and  ' 
children,  and  choose  by  lot  men  who  should  quit  the  coun- 
try. And  if  the  lot  fell  on  old  men  and  weak,  then  the 
stronger  should  offer  to  go  into  exile  in  their  place,  and 
should  of  their  own  free  will  undertake  to  bear  the  bur- 
den of  it  for  the  feeble.     But  those  men  who  had  the  heart 

513 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

I 

to  save  their  lives  by  crime  and  impiety,  and  to  prosecute 
their  parents  and  their  children  by  so  abominable  a  de- 
cree, did  not  deserve  life;  for  they  would  be  doing  a  work 
of  cruelty  and  not  of  love.  Finally,  all  those  whose  own 
lives  were  dearer  to  them  than  the  love  of  their  parents 
or  their  children,  deserved  but  ill  of  their  country.  These 
words  were  reported  to  the  assembly,  and  assented  tO'  by 
the  vote  of  the  majority.  So  the  fortunes  of  all  were 
staked  upon  the  lot  and  those  upon  whom  it  fell  were 
doomed  to  be  banished.  Thus  those  who  had  been  loth 
to  obey  necessity  of  their  own  accord  had  now  to  accept 
the  award  of  chance.  So  they  sailed  first  to  Bleking,  and 
then,  sailing  past  Moring,  they  came  tO'  anchor  at  Goth- 
land; where,  according  to  Paulus,  they  are  said  to  have 
been  prompted  by  the  goddess  Frigg  to  take  the  name  of 
the  Longobardi  (Lombards),  whose  nation  they  after- 
wards founded.  In  the  end  they  landed  at  Riigen,  and, 
abandoning  their  ships,  began  to  march  overland.  They 
crossed  and  wasted  a  great  portion  of  the  world ;  and  at 
last,  finding  an  abode  in  Italy,  changed  the  ancient  name 
of  the  nation  for  their  own. 

Meanwhile,  the  land  of  the  Danes,  where  the  tillers 
laboured  less  and  less,  and  all  traces  of  the  furrows  were 
covered  with  overgrowth,  began  to  look  like  a  forest. 
Almost  stripped  of  its  pleasant  native  turf,  it  bristled  with 
the  dense  unshapely  woods  that  grew  up.  Traces  of  this 
are  yet  seen  in  the  aspect  of  its  fields.  What  were  once 
acres  fertile  in  grain  are  now  seen  to  be  dotted  with 
trunks  of  trees;  and  where  of  old  the  tillers  turned  the 
earth  up  deep  and  scattered  the  huge  clods  there  has  now 

514 


BOOK  EIGHT 

sprung  up  a  forest  covering  the  fields,  which  still  bear 
the  tracks  of  ancient  tillage.  Had  not  these  lands  re- 
mained untilled  and  desolate  with  long  overgrowth,  the 
tenacious  roots  of  trees  could  never  have  shared  the  soil 
of  one  and  the  same  land  with  the  furrows  made  by  the 
plough.  Moreover,  the  mounds  which  men  laboriously 
built  up  of  old  on  the  level  ground  for  the  burial  of  the 
dead  are  now  covered  by  a  mass  of  woodland.  Many 
piles  of  stones  are  also  to  be  seen  interspersed  among 
the  forest  glades.  The,se  were  once  scattered  over  the 
whole  country,  but  the  peasants  carefully  gathered  the 
boulders  and  piled  them  into  a  heap  that  they  might  not 
prevent  furrows  being  cut  in  all  directions;  for  they 
would  sooner  sacrifice  a  little  of  the  land  than  find  the 
whole  of  it  stubborn.  From  this  work,  done  by  the  toil 
of  the  peasants  for  the  easier  working  of  the  fields,  it  is 
judged  that  the  population  in  ancient  times  was  greater 
than  the  present  one,  which  is  satisfied  with  small  fields, 
and  keeps  its  agriculture  within  narrower  limits  than 
those  of  the  ancient  tillage.  Thus  the  present  genera- 
tion is  amazed  to  behold  that  it  has  exchanged  a  soil  which 
could  once  produce  grain  for  one  only  fit  to  grow  acorns, 
and  the  plough-handle  and  the  cornstalks  for  a  landscape 
studded  with  trees.  Let  this  account  of  Snio,  which  I 
have  put  together  as  truly  as  I  could,  suffice. 

Snio  was  succeeded  by  Biorn;  and  after  him  Harald 
became  sovereign.  Ilarald's  son  Gorm  won  no  mean 
place  of  honour  among  the  ancient  generals  of  the  Danes 
by  his  record  of  doughty  deeds.  For  he  ventured  into 
fresh  fields,  preferring  to  practise  his  inherited  valour, 

515 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

not  in  war,  but  in  searching  the  secrets  of  nature;  and, 
just  as  other  kings  are  stirred  by  warHke  ardour,  so  his 
heart  thirsted  to  look  into  marvels ;  either  what  he  could 
experience  himself,  or  what  were  merely  matters  of  re- 
port. And  being  desirous  to  go  and  see  all  things  for- 
eign and  extraordinary,  he  thought  that  he  must  above 
all  test  a  report  which  he  had  heard  from  the  men  of 
Thule  concerning  the  abode  of  a  certain  Geirrod.  For 
they  boasted  past  belief  of  the  mighty  piles  of  treasure 
in  that  country,  but  said  that  the  way  was  beset  with 
peril,  and  hardly  passable  by  mortal  man.  For  those  who 
had  tried  it  declared  that  it  was  needful  to  sail  over  the 
ocean  that  goes  round  the  lands,  to  leave  the  sun  and 
stars  behind,  to  journey  down  into  chaos,  and  at  last  to 
pass  into  a  land  where  no  light  was  and  where  darkness 
reigned  eternally. 

But  the  warrior  trampled  down  in  his  soul  all  fear  of 
the  dangers  that  beset  him.  Not  that  he  desired  booty, 
but  glory;  for  he  hoped  for  a  great  increase  of  renown 
if  he  ventured  on  a  wholly  unattempted  quest.  Three 
hundred  men  announced  that  they  had  the  same  desire 
as  the  king;  and  he  resolved  that  Thorkill,  who  had 
brought  the  new^s,  should  be  chosen  to  guide  them  on  the 
journey,  as  he  knew  the  ground  and  was  versed  in  the 
approaches  to  that  country.  Thorkill  did  not  refuse  the 
task,  and  advised  that,  to  meet  the  extraordinary  fury  of 
the  sea  they  had  tO'  cross,  strongly-made  vessels  should 
be  built,  fitted  with  many  knotted  cords  and  close-set 
nails,  filled  with  great  store  of  provision,  and  covered 
above  with  ox-hides  to  protect  the  inner  spaces  of  the 

516 


a,Si  - 


BOOK  EIGHT 

ships  from  the  spray  of  the  waves  breaking  in.  Then 
they  sailed  off  in  only  three  galleys,  each  containing  a 
hundred  chosen  men. 

Now  when  they  had  come  to  Halogaland  (Helgeland), 
they  lost  their  favouring  breezes,  and  were  driven  and 
tossed  divers  ways  over  the  seas  in  perilous  voyage.     At 
last,  in  extreme  want  of  food,  and  lacking  even  bread, 
they  staved  off  hunger  with  a  little  pottage.     Some  days 
passed,  and  they  heard  the  thunder  of  a  storm  brawling 
in  the  distance,  as  if  it  were  deluging  the  rocks.     By  this 
perceiving  that  land  was  near,  they  bade  a  youth  of  great 
nimbleness  climb  to  the  masthead  and  look  out;  and  he 
reported  that  a  precipitous  island  was  in  sight.     All  were 
overjoyed,  and  gazed  with  thirsty  eyes  at  the  countr}^ 
at  which  he  pointed,  eagerly  awaiting  the  refuge  of  the 
promised  shore.     At  last  they  managed  to  reach  it,  and 
made  their  way  out  over  the  heights  that  blocked  their 
way,   along  very   steep  paths,   into  the  higher   ground. 
Then  Thorkill  told  them  to  take  no  more  of  the  herds 
that  were  running  alx)ut  in  numbers  on  the  coast,  than 
would  serve  once  to  appease  their  hunger.     If  they  dis- 
obeyed, the  guardian  gods  of  the  spot  would  not  let  them 
depart.     But  the  seamen,  more  anxious  to  go  on  filling 
their  bellies  than  to  obey  orders,  postponed  counsels  of 
safety  to  the  temptations  of  gluttony,  and  loaded  the  now 
emptied  holds  of  their  ships  with  the  carcases  of  slaugh- 
tered cattle.     These  beasts  were  very  easy  to  capture,  be- 
cause they  gathered  in  amazement  at  the  unwonted  sight 
of  men,  their  fears  being  made  bold.      On  the  following 
night  monsters  dashed  down  upon  the  shore,  filled  the  for- 

15  517 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

est  with  clamour,  and  beleaguered  and  beset  the  ships. 
One  of  them,  huger  than  the  rest,  strode  over  the  waters, 
armed  with  a  mighty  club.  Coming  close  up  to  them,  he 
bellowed  out  that  they  should  never  sail  away  till  they 
had  atoned  for  the  crime  they  had  committed  in  slaugh- 
tering the  flock,  and  had  made  good  the  losses  of  the 
herd  of  the  gods  by  giving  up  one  man  for  each  of  their 
ships.  Thorkill  yielded  to  these  threats ;  and,  in  order  to 
preserve  the  safety  of  all  by  imperilling  a  few,  singled 
out  three  men  by  lot  and  gave  them  up. 

This  done,  a  favouring  wind  took  them,  and  they  sailed 
to  further  Permland.  It  is  a  region  of  eternal  cold,  cov- 
ered with  very  deep  snows,  and  not  sensible  to  the  force 
even  of  the  summer  heats;  full  of  pathless  forests,  not 
fertile  in  grain  and  haunted  by  beasts  uncommon  else- 
where. Its  many  rivers  pour  onwards  in  a  hissing,  foam- 
ing flood,  because  of  the  reefs  imbedded  in  their  channels. 

Here  Thorkill  drew  up  his  ships  ashore,  and  bade  them 
pitch  their  tents  on  the  beach,  declaring  that  they  had 
come  to  a  spot  whence  the  passage  to  Geirrod  would  be 
short.  Moreover,  he  forbade  them  to  exchange  any 
speech  with  those  that  came  up  to  them,  declaring  that 
nothing  enabled  the  monsters  to  injure  strangers  so  much 
as  uncivil  words  on  their  part :  it  would  be  therefore  safer 
for  his  companions  to  keep  silence ;  none  but  he,  who  had 
seen  all  the  manners  and  customs  of  this  nation  before, 
could  speak  safely.  As  twilight  approached,  a  man  of 
extraordinary  bigness  greeted  the  sailors  by  their  names, 
and  came  among  them.  All  were  aghast,  but  Thorkill 
told  them  to  greet  his  arrival  cheerfully,  telling  them  that 

518 


BOOK  EIGHT 

this  was  Gudmund,  the  brother  of  Geirrod,  and  the  most 
faithful  guardian  in  perils  of  all  men  who  landed  in  that 
spot.  When  the  man  asked  why  all  the  rest  thus  kept 
silence,  he  answered  that  they  were  very  unskilled  in  his 
language,  and  were  ashamed  to  use  a  speech  they  did  not 
know.  Then  Gudmund  invited  them  to  be  his  guests,  and 
took  them  up  in  carriages.  As  they  went  forward,  they 
saw  a  river  which  could  be  crossed  by  a  bridge  of  gold. 
They  wished  to  go  over  it,  but  Gudmund  restrained  them, 
telling  them  that  by  this  channel  nature  had  divided  the 
world  of  men  from  the  world  of  monsters,  and  that  no 
mortal  track  might  go  further.  Then  they  reached  the 
dwelling  of  their  guide ;  and  here  Thorkill  took  his  com- 
panions apart  and  warned  them  to  behave  like  men  of  good 
counsel  amidst  the  divers  temptations  cliance  might  throw 
in  their  way;  to  abstain  from  the  food  of  the  stranger, 
'  and  nourish  their  bodies  only  on  their  own ;  and  to  seek 
a  seat  apart  from  the  natives,  and  have  no  contact  with 
any  of  them  as  they  lay  at  meat.  For  if  they  partook  of 
that  food  they  would  lose  recollection  of  all  things,  and 
must  live  for  ever  in  filthy  intercourse  amongst  ghastly 
hordes  of  monsters.  Likewise  he  told  them  that  they 
must  keep  their  hands  off  the  serv^ants  and  the  cups  of 
the  people. 

Round  the  table  stood  twelve  noble  sons  of  Gudmund, 
and  as  many  daughters  of  notable  beauty.  When  Gud- 
mund saw  that  the  king  Ixirely  tasted  what  his  servants 
brought,  he  reproached  him  with  repulsing  his  kindness, 
and  complained  that  it  was  a  slight  on  the  host.  But 
Thorkill  was  not  at  a  loss  for  a  fitting  excuse.     He  re- 

519 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

minded  him  that  men  who  took  unaccustomed  food  often 
suffered  from  it  seriously,  and  that  the  king  was  not  un- 
grateful for  the  service  rendered  by  another,  but  was 
merely  taking  care  of  his  health,  when  he  refreshed  him- 
self as  he  was  wont,  and  furnished  his  supper  with  his 
own  viands.  An  act,  therefore,  that  was  only  done  in 
the  healthy  desire  to  escape  some  bane,  ought  in  no  wise 
to  be  put  down  to  scorn.  Now  when  Gudmund  saw  that 
the  temperance  of  his  guest  had  baffled  his  treacherous 
preparations,  he  determined  to  sap  their  chastity,  if  he 
could  not  weaken  their  abstinence,  and  eagerly  strained 
every  nerve  of  his  wit  to  enfeeble  their  self-control.  For 
he  offered  the  king  his  daughter  in  marriage,  and  prom- 
ised the  rest  that  they  should  have  whatever  women  of 
his  household  they  desired.  Most  of  them  inclined  to  his 
offer :  but  Thorkill  by  his  healthy  admonitions  prevented 
them,  as  he  had  done  before,  from  falling  into  tempta- 
tion. 

With  wonderful  management  Thorkill  divided  his 
heed  between  the  suspicious  host  and  the  delighted 
guests.  Four  of  the  Danes,  to  whom  lust  was  more  than 
their  salvation,  accepted  the  offer ;  the  infection  maddened 
them,  distraught  their  wits,  and  blotted  out  their  recol- 
lection :  for  they  are  said  never  to  have  been  in  their  right 
mind  after  this.  If  these  men  had  kept  themselves  with- 
in the  rightful  bounds  of  temperance,  they  would  have 
equalled  the  glories  of  Hercules,  surpassed  with  their 
spirit  the  bravery  of  giants,  and  been  ennobled  for  ever 
by  their  wondrous  services  to  their  country. 

Gudmund,  stubborn  to  his  purpose,  and  still  spreading 

520 


BOOK  EIGHT 

his  nets,  extolled  the  delights  of  his  garden,  and  tried  to 
lure  the  king  thither  to  gather  fruits,  desiring  to  break 
down  his  constant  wariness  by  the  lust  of  the  eye  and  the 
baits  of  the  palate.  The  king,  as  before,  was  strengthened 
against  these  treacheries  by  Thorkill,  and  rejected  this 
feint  of  kindly  service;  he  excused  himself  from  accepting 
it  on  the  plea  that  he  must  hasten  on  his  journey.  Gud- 
mund  perceived  that  Thorkill  was  shrewder  than  he  at 
every  point;  so,  despairing  to  accomplish  his  treacher}-, 
he  carried  them  all  across  the  further  side  of  the  river, 
and  let  them  finish  their  journey. 

They  went  on;  and  saw,  not  far  off,  a  gloomy,  neg- 
lected town,  looking  more  like  a  cloud  exhaling  vapour. 
Stakes  interspersed  among  the  battlements  showed  the 
severed  heads  of  warriors  and  dogs  of  great  ferocity  were 
seen  watching  before  the  doors  to  guard  the  entrance. 
Thorkill  threw  them  a  horn  smeared  with  fat  to  lick,  and 
so,  at  slight  cost,  appeased  their  most  furious  rage.     High 
up  the  gates  lay  open  to  enter,  and  they  climbed  to  their 
level  with  ladders,  entering  with  difficulty.     Inside  the 
town  was  crowded  with  murky  and  misshapen  phantoms, 
and  it  was  hard  to  say  whether  their  shrieking  figures 
were  more  ghastly  to  the  eye  or  to  the  ear ;  everything  was 
foul,  and  the  reeking  mire  afflicted  the  nostrils  of  the  vis- 
itors with  its  unbearable  stench.     Then  they  found  the 
rocky  dwelling  which  Geirrod  was  rumoured  to  inhabit 
for  his  palace.     They  resolved  to  visit  its  narrow^  and 
horrible  ledge,  but  stayed  their  steps  and  halted  in  panic 
at  the  very  entrance.     Then  Thorkill,  seeing  that  they 
were  of  two  minds,  dispelled  their  hesitation  to  enter  by 

521 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

manful  encouragement,  counselling  themi  to  restrain  them- 
selves, and  not  to  touch  any  piece  of  gear  in  the  house 
they  were  about  to  enter,  albeit  it  seemed  delightful  to 
have  or  pleasant  to  behold;  to  keep  their  hearts  as  far 
from  all  covetousness  as  from  fear ;  neither  to  desire  what 
was  pleasant  to  take,  nor  dread  what  was  awful  to  look 
upon,  though  they  should  find  themselves  amidst  abun- 
dance of  both  these  things.  If  they  did,  their  greedy 
hands  would  suddenlv  be  bound  fast,  unable  to  tear  them- 
selves  away  from  the  thing  they  touched,  and  knotted  up 
with  it  as  by  inextricable  bonds.  Moreover,  they  should 
enter  in  order,  four  by  four. 

Broder  and  Buchi  (Buk?)  were  the  first  to  show  cour- 
age to  attempt  to  enter  the  vile  palace;  Thorkill  with  the 
king  followed  them,  and  the  rest  advanced  behind  these  in 
ordered  ranks. 

Inside,  the  house  was  seen  to  be  ruinous  throughout, 
and  filled  with  a  violent  and  abominable  reek.  And  it 
also  teemed  with  everything  that  could  disgust  the 
eye  or  the  mind :  the  door-posts  were  begrimed  with  the 
soot  of  ages,  the  wall  was  plastered  with  filth,  the  roof 
was  made  up  of  spear-heads,  the  flooring  was  covered 
with  snakes  and  bespattered  with  all  manner  of  unclean- 
ness.  Such  an  unwonted  sight  struck  terror  into  the 
strangers,  and,  over  all,  the  acrid  and  incessant  stench 
assailed  their  afflicted  nostrils.  Also  bloodless  phantasmal 
monsters  huddled  on  the  iron  seats,  and  the  places  for 
sitting  were  railed  off  by  leaden  trellises;  and  hideous 
doorkeepers  stood  at  watch  on  the  thresholds.  Some  of 
these,  armed  with  clubs   lashed  together,  yelled,  while 

522 


BOOK  EIGHT 

others  played  a  gruesome  game,  tossing  a  goat's  hide  from 
one  to  the  other  with  mutual  motion  of  goatish  backs. 

Here  Thorkill  again  warned  the  men,  and  forbade  tliem 
to  stretch  forth  their  covetous  hands  rashly  to  the  for- 
bidden things.  Going  on  through  the  breach  in  the  crag, 
they  beheld  an  old  man  with  his  body  pierced  through, 
sitting,  not  far  off,  on  a  lofty  seat  facing  the  side  of  the 
rock  that  had  been  rent  away.  Moreover,  three  women, 
whose  bodies  were  covered  with  tumours,  and  who  seemed 
to  have  lost  the  strength  of  their  back-bones,  filled  ad- 
joining seats.  Thorkill's  companions  were  very  curious ; 
and  he,  who  well  knew  the  reason  of  the  matter,  told  them 
that  long  ago  the  god  Thor  had  been  provoked  by  the 
insolence  of  the  giants  to  drive  red-hot  irons  through  the 
vitals  of  Geirrod,  who  strove  with  him,  and  that  the  iron 
had  slid  further,  torn  up  the  mountain,  and  battered 
through  its  side;  while  the  women  had  been  stricken  by 
the  might  of  his  thunderbolts,  and  had  been  punished  (so 
he  declared)  for  their  attempt  on  the  same  deity,  by  hav- 
ing their  bodies  broken. 

As  the  men  were  about  to  depart  thence,  there  were 
disclosed  to  them  seven  butts  hooped  round  with  belts 
of  gold;  and  from  these  hung  circlets  of  silver 
entwined  with  them  in  manifold  links.  Near  these  was 
found  the  tusk  of  a  strange  beast,  tipped  at  both  ends 
with  gold.  Close  by  was  a  vast  stag-horn,  laboriously 
decked  w^ith  choice  and  flashing  gems,  and  this  also  did 
not  lack  chasing.  Hard  by  was  to  be  seen  a  very  heavy 
bracelet.  One  man  was  kindled  with  an  inordinate  desire 
for  this  bracelet,  and  laid  covetous  hands  upon  the  gold, 

523 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

not  knowing  that  the  glorious  metal  covered  deadly  mis- 
chief, and  that  a  fatal  bane  lay  hid  under  the  shining 
spoil.  A  second  also,  unable  to  restrain  his  covetousness, 
reached  out  his  quivering  hands  to  the  horn.  A  third, 
matching  the  confidence  of  the  others,  and  having  no  con- 
trol over  his  fingers,  ventured  to  shoulder  the  tusk.  The 
spoil  seemed  alike  lovely  to  look  upon  and  desirable  to  en- 
joy, for  all  that  met  the  eye  was  fair  and  tempting  to  be- 
hold. But  the  bracelet  suddenly  took  the  form,  of  a 
snake,  and  attacked  him  who  was  carrying  it  with  its 
poisoned  tooth;  the  horn  lengthened  out  into  a  serpent, 
and  took  the  life  of  the  man  who  bore  it ;  the  tusk  wrought 
itself  into  a  sword,  and  plunged  into  the  vitals  of  its 
bearer. 

The  rest  dreaded  the  fate  of  perishing  with  their 
friends,  and  thought  that  the  guiltless  would  be  destroyed 
like  the  guilty ;  they  durst  not  hope  that  even  innocence 
would  be  safe.  Then  the  side-door  of  another  room 
showed  them  a  narrow  alcove :  and  a  privy  chamber  with  a 
yet  richer  treasure  was  revealed,  wherein  arms  were  laid 
out  too  great  for  those  of  human  stature.  Among  these 
were  seen  a  royal  mantle,  a  handsome  hat,  and  a  belt  mar- 
vellously wrought.  Thorkill,  struck  wath  amazement  at 
these  things,  gave  rein  to  his  covetousness,  and  cast  off 
all  his  purposed  self-restraint.  He  who  so  oft  had  trained 
others  could  not  so  much  as  conquer  his  own  cravings. 
For  he  laid  his  hand  upon  the  mantle,  and  his  rash  ex- 
ample tempted  the  rest  to  join  in  his  enterprise  of  plun- 
der. Thereupon  the  recess  shook  from  its  lowest  foun- 
dations, and  began  suddenly  to  reel  and  totter.     Straigbt- 

524 


BOOK  EIGHT 

way  the  women  raised  a  shriek  that  the  wicked  robbers 
were  being  endured  too  long.  Then  they,  who  were  be- 
fore supposed  to  be  half-dead  or  lifeless  phantoms, 
seemed  to  obey  the  cries  of  the  women,  and,  leaping  sud- 
denly up  from  their  seats,  attacked  the  strangers  with 
furious  onset.     The  other  creatures  bellowed   hoarsely. 

But  Broder  and  Buchi  fell  to  their  old  and  familiar  arts, 
and  attacked  the  witches,  who  ran  at  them,  with  a  shower 
of  spears  from  every  side ;  and  with  the  missiles  from  their 
bows  and  slings  they  crushed  the  array  of  monsters. 
There  could  be  no  stronger  or  more  successful  way  to  re- 
pulse them;  but  only  twenty  men  out  of  all  the  king's 
company  were  rescued  by  the  intervention  of  this  archery ; 
the  rest  were  torn  in  pieces  by  the  monsters.  The  sur- 
vivors returned  to  the  river,  and  were  ferried  over  by 
Gudmund,  who  entertained  them  at  his  house.  Long 
and  often  as.  he  besought  them,  he  could  not  keep  them 
back ;  so  at  last  he  gave  them  presents  and  let  them  go. 

Buchi  relaxed  his  watch  upon  himself;  his  self-con- 
trol became  unstrung,  and  he  forsook  the  virtue  in  which 
he  hitherto  rejoiced.  For  he  conceived  an  incurable  love 
for  one  of  the  daughters  of  Gudmund,  and  embraced  her ; 
but  he  obtained  a  bride  to  his  undoing,  for  soon  his  brain 
suddenly  began  to  whirl,  and  he  lost  his  recollection. 
Thus  the  hero  who  had  subdued  all  the  monsters  and  over- 
come all  the  perils  was  mastered  by  passion  for  one  girl ; 
his  soul  strayed  far  from  temperance,  and  he  lay  under 
a  wretched  sensual  yoke.  For  the  sake  of  respect,  he 
started  to  accompany  the  departing  king;  but  as  he  was 
about  to  ford  the  river  in  his  carriage,  his  wheels  sank 

525 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

deep,    he    was    caught    up    in    the    violent    eddies    and 
destroyed. 

The  king  bewailed  his  friend's  disaster  and  departed 
hastening  on  his  voyage.  This  was  at  first  prosperous, 
but  afterw-ards  he  was  tossed  by  bad  weather;  his  men 
perished  of  hunger,  and  but  few  survived,  so  that  he  be- 
gan to  feel  awe  in  his  heart,  and  fell  to  making  vows  to 
heaven,  thinking  the  gods  alone  could  help  him  in  his  ex- 
treme need.  At  last  the  others  besought  sundry  powers 
among  the  gods,  and  thought  they  ought  to  sacrifice  to 
the  majesty  of  divers  deities ;  but  the  king,  offering  both 
vows  and  peace-offerings  to  Utgarda-Loki,  obtained  that 
fair  season  of  weather  for  which  he  prayed. 

Coming  home,  and  feeling  that  he  had  passed  through 
all  these  seas  and  toils,  he  thought  it  was  time  for  his 
spirit,  wearied  with  calamities,  to  withdraw  from  his  la- 
bours. So  he  took  a  queen  from  Sweden,  and  exchanged 
his  old  pursuits  for  meditative  leisure.  His  life  was 
prolonged  in  the  utmost  peace  and  quietness;  but  when 
he  had  almost  come  tO'  the  end  of  his  days,  certain  men 
persuaded  him  by  likely  arguments  that  souls  were  im- 
mortal; so  that  he  was  constantly  turning  over  in  his 
mind  the  questions,  to  what  abode  he  was  to  fare  when 
the  breath  left  his  limbs,  or  what  reward  was  earned  by 
zealous  adoration  of  the  gods. 

While  he  was  thus  inclined,  certain  men  who'  wished 
ill  to  Thorkill  came  and  told  Gorm  that  it  was  needful  to 
consult  the  gods,  and  that  assurance  about  so  great  a  mat- 
ter must  be  sought  of  the  oracles  of  heaven,  since  it  was 
too  deep  for  human  wit  and  hard  for  mortals  to  discover. 

526 


BOOK  EIGHT 

Therefore,  they  said,  Utgarda-Loki  must  be  appeased,  and 
no  man  would  accompHsh  this  more  fitly  than  Thorkill. 
Others,  again,  laid  information  against  him  as  guilty 
of  treachery  and  an  enemy  of  the  king's  life.  Thorkill, 
seeing  himself  doomed  to  extreme  peril,  demanded  that 
his  accusers  should  share  his  journey.  Then  they  who 
had  aspersed  an  innocent  man  saw  that  the  peril  they  had 
designed  against  the  life  of  another  had  recoiled  upon 
themselves,  and  tried  to  take  back  their  plan.  But  vainly 
did  they  pester  the  ears  of  the  king;  he  forced  them  to 
sail  under  the  command  of  Thorkill,  and  even  upbraided 
them  with  cowardice.  Thus,  when  a  mischief  is  designed 
against  another,  it  is  commonly  sure  to  strike  home  to  its 
author.  And  when  these  men  saw^  that  they  were  con- 
strained, and  could  not  possibly  avoid  the  peril,  they  cov- 
ered their  ship  with  ox-hides,  and  filled  it  with  abundant 
store  of  provision. 

In  this  ship  they  sailed  away,  and  came  to  a  sunless 
land,  which  knew  not  the  stars,  was  void  of  daylight,  and 
seemed  to  overshadow  them  with  eternal  night.  Long 
they  sailed  under  this  strange  sky;  at  last  their  timber 
fell  short,  and  they  lacked  fuel ;  and,  having  no  place  to 
boil  their  meat  in,  they  staved  ofif  their  hunger  with  raw 
viands.  But  most  of  those  wdio  ate  contracted  extreme 
disease,  being  glutted  with  undigested  food.  For  the 
unusual  diet  first  made  a  faintness  steal  gradually  upon 
their  stomachs ;  then  the  infection  spread  further,  and  the 
malady  reached  the  vital  parts.  Thus  there  was  danger 
in  either  extreme,  which  made  it  hurtful  not  to  eat.  and 
perilous  to  indulge;  for  it  was  found  both  unsafe  to  feed 

5^7 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

and  bad  for  them  to  abstain.  Then,  when  they  were  be- 
ginning to  be  in  utter  despair,  a  gleam  of  unexpected  help 
relieved  them,  even  as  the  string  breaks  most  easily  when 
it  is  stretched  tightest.  For  suddenly  the  weary  men 
saw  the  twinkle  of  a  fire  at  no  great  distance,  and  con- 
ceived a  hope  of  prolonging  their  lives.  Thorkill  thought 
this  fire  a  heaven-sent  relief,  and  resolved  to  go  and  take 
some  of  it. 

To  be  surer  of  getting  back  tO'  his  friends,  Thorkill 
fastened  a  jewel  upon  the  mast-head,  to-  mark  it  by 
the  gleam.  When  he  got  to  the  shore,  his  eyes  fell  on  a 
cavern  in  a  close  defile,  to  which  a  narrow  way  led.  Tell- 
ing his  companions  to  await  him  outside,  he  went  in,  and 
saw  two  men,  swart  and  very  huge,  with  horny  noses, 
feeding  their  fire  with  any  chance-given  fuel.  More- 
over, the  entrance  was  hideous,  the  door-posts  were  de- 
cayed, the  walls  grimy  with  mould,  the  roof  filthy,  and 
the  floor  swarming  with  snakes;  all  of  which  disgusted 
the  eye  as  much  as  the  mind.  Then  one  of  the  giants 
greeted  him,  and  said  that  he  had  begun  a  most  difficult 
venture  in  his  burning  desire  to  visit  a  strange  god,  and 
his  attempt  to  explore  with  curious  search  an  untrodden 
region  beyond  the  world.  Yet  he  promised  to  tell  Thor- 
kill the  paths  of  the  journey  he  proposed  to  make,  if  he 
would  deliver  three  true  judgments  in  the  form  of  as 
many  sayings.  Then  said  Thorkill :  "In  good  truth,  I 
do  not  remember  ever  to  have  seen  a  household  with  more 
uncomely  noses ;  nor  have  I  ever  come  to  a  spot  where  I 
had  less  mind  to  live."  Also  he  said:  "That,  I  think, 
is  my  best  foot  which  can  get  out  of  this  foremost." 

528 


BOOK  EIGHT 

The  giant  was  pleased  with  the  shrewdness  of  Thorkill, 
and  praised  his  sayings,  telHng  him  that  he  must  first 
travel  to  a  grassless  land  which  was  veiled  in  deep 
darkness;  but  he  must  first  voyage  for  four  days,  rowing 
incessantly,  before  he  could  reach  his  goal.  There  he" 
could  visit  Utgarda-Loki,  who  had  chosen  hideous  and 
grisly  caves  for  his  filthy  dwelling.  Thorkill  was  much 
"agHasTcitbeing  bidden  to  go-CJri  a  Voyage  so  long  and  haz-' 
ardous;  but  his  doubtful  hopes  prevailed  over  his  present 
fears,  and  he  asked  for  some  live  fuel.  Then  said  the 
giant :  "If  thou  needest  fire,  thou  must  deliver  three  more 
judgments  in  like  sayings."  Then  said  Thorkill :  "Good 
counsel  is  to  be  obeyed,  though  a  mean  fellow  gave  it." 
Likewise:  "I  have  gone  so  far  in  rashness,  that  if  I  can 
get  back  I  shall  owe  my  safety  to  none  but  my  own  legs." 
And  again :  "Were  I  free  to  retreat  this  moment,  I 
would  take  good  care  never  to  come  back." 

Thereupon  Thorkill  took  the  fire  along  to  his  compan- 
ions ;  and  finding  a  kindly  wind,  landed  on  the  fourth  day 
at  the  appointed  harbour.  \\'ith  his  crew  he  entered  a 
land  where  an  aspect  of  unbroken  night  checked  the  vicis- 
situde of  light  and  darkness.  He  could  hardly  see  be- 
fore him,  but  beheld  a  rock  of  enormous  size.  Wishing 
to  explore  it,  he  told  his  companions,  who  were  standing 
posted  at  the  door,  to  strike  a  fire  from  flints  as  a  timely 
safeguard  against  demons,  and  kindle  it  in  the  entrance. 
Then  he  made  others  bear  a  light  before  him,  and  stooped 
his  body  through  the  narrow  jaws  of  the  cavern,  where 
he  beheld  a  number  of  iron  seats  among  a  swarm  of  glid- 
ing serpents.     Next  there  met  his  eye  a  sluggish  mass  of 

529 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

water  gently  flowing  over  a  sandy  bottom.  He  crossed 
this,  and  approached  a  cavern  which  sloped  somewhat 
more  steeply.  Again,  after  this,  a  foul  and  gloomy 
room  was  disclosed  to  the  visitors,  wherein  they  saw 
Utgarda-Loki,  laden  hand  and  foot  with  enormous  chains. 
Each  of  his  reeking  hairs  was  as  large  and  stiff  as  a  spear 
of  cornel.  Thorkill  (his  companions  lending  a  hand),  in 
order  that  his  deeds  might  gain  more  credit,  plucked  one 
of  these  from  the  chin  of  Utgarda-Loki,  who  suffered  it. 
Straightway  such  a  noisome  smell  reached  the  bystanders, 
that  they  could  not  breathe  without  stopping  their  noses 
with  their  mantles.  They  could  scarcely  make  their  way 
out,  and  were  bespattered  by  the  snakes  which  darted  at 
them  on  every  side. 

Only  five  of  Thorkill's  company  embarked  with  their 
captain:  the  poison  killed  the  rest.  The  demons  hung 
furiously  over  them,  and  cast  their  poisonous..slaYjer_from 
every  side  upon  the  men  below  them.  But  the  sailors 
sheltered  themselves  with  their  hides,  and  cast  back  the 
venom  that  fell  upon  them.  One  man  by  chance  at  this 
point  wished  to  peep  out;  the  poison  touched  his  head, 
which  was  taken  off  his  neck  as  if  it  had  been  severed  with 
a  sword.  Another  put  his  eyes  out  of  their  shelter,  and 
when  he  brought  them  back  under  it  they  were  blinded. 
Another  thrust  forth  his  hand  while  unfolding  his  cover- 
ing, and,  when  he  withdrew  his  arm,  it  was  withered  by 
the  virulence  of  the  same  slaver.  They  besought  their 
deities  to  be  kinder  to  them ;  vainly,  until  Thorkill  prayed 
to  the  god  of  the  universe,  and  poured  forth  unto  him 
libations  as  well  as  prayers;  and  thus,  presently  findmg 

530 


BOOK  EIGHT 

the  sky  even  as  before  and  the  elements  clear,  he  made  a 
fair  voyage. 

And  now  they  seemed  to  behold  another  world,  and  the 
way  towards  the  life  of  man.  At  last  Thorkill  landed  in 
Germany,  which  had  then  been  admitted  to  Christianity ; 
and  among  its  people  he  began  to  learn  how  to  worship 
God.  His  band  of  men  were  almost  destroyed,  because  of 
the  dreadful  air  they  had  breathed,  and  he  returned  to  his 
country  accompanied  by  two  men  only,  who  had  escaped 
the  worst.  But  the  corrupt  matter  which  smeared  his 
face  so  disgiu'sed  his  person  and  original  features  that  not 
even  his  friends  knew  him.  But  when  he  wiped  off  the 
filth,  he  made  himself  recognizable  by  those  who  saw  him, 
and  inspired  the  king  with  the  greatest  eagerness  to  hear 
about  his  quest.  But  the  detraction  of  his  rivals  was  not 
yet  silenced ;  and  some  pretended  that  the  king  would  die 
suddenly  if  he  learnt  Thorkill's  tidings.  The  king  was 
the  more  disposed  to  credit  this  saying,  because  he  was 
already  credulous  by  reason  of  a  dream  which  falsely 
prophesied  the  same  thing.  Men  were  therefore  hired  by 
the  king's  command  to  slay  Thorkill  in  the  night.  But 
somehow  he  got  wind  of  it,  left  his  bed  unknown  to  all, 
and  put  a  heavy  log  in  his  place.  By  this  he  baffled  the 
treacherous  device  of  the  king,  for  the  hirelings  smote 
only  the  stock. 

On  the  morrow  Thorkill  went  up  to  the  king  as  he 
sat  at  meat,  and  said :  "I  forgive  thy  cruelty  and  par- 
don thy  error,  in  that  thou  hast  decreed  punishment,  and 
not  thanks,  to  him  who  brings  good  tidings  of  his  errand. 
For  thy  sake  I  have  devoted  my  life  to  all  these  afflictions, 

531 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

and  battered  it  in  all  these  perils;  I  hoped  that  thou 
wouldst  requite  my  services  with  much  gratitude;  and 
behold!  I  have  found  thee,  and  thee  alone,  punish  my 
valour  sharpliest.  But  I  forbear  all  vengeance,  and  am  sat- 
isfied with  the  shame  within  thy  heart — if,  after  all,  any 
shame  visits  the  thankless — as  expiation  for  this  wrong- 
doing towards  me.  I  have  a  right  to  surmise  that  thou 
art  worse  than  all  demons  in  fury,  and  all  beasts  in  cruelty, 
if,  after  escaping  the  snares  of  all  these  monsters,  I  have 
failed  to  be  safe  from  thine." 

The  king  desired  to  learn  everything  from  Thorkill's 
own  lips;  and,  thinking  it  hard  to  escape  destiny,  bade 
him  relate  what  had  happened  in  due  order.  He  listened 
eagerly  to  his  recital  of  everything,  till  at  last,  when  his 
own  god  was  named,  he  could  not  endure  him  to  be  un- 
favourably judged.  For  he  could  not  bear  to  hear  Ut- 
garda-Loki  reproached  with  filthiness,  and  so  resented 
his  shameful  misfortunes,  that  his  very  life  could  not 
brook  such  words,  and  he  yielded  it  up  in  the  midst  of 
Thorkill's  narrative.  Thus,  whilst  he  was  so  zealous  in 
the  worship  of  a  false  god,  he  came  tO'  find  where  the  true 
prison  of  sorrows  really  was.  MoreoA'cr,  the  reek  of  the 
hair,  which  Thorkill  plucked  from  the  locks  of  the  giant 
to  testify  to  the  greatness  of  his  own  deeds,  was  ex- 
haled upon  the  bystanders,  so  that  many  perished  of  it. 

After  the  death  of  Gorm,  GoTrik  his  son  came  to  the 
throne.  He  was  notable  not  only  for  prowess  but  for 
generosity,  and  none  can  say  whether  his  courage  or  his 
compassion  was  the  greater.  He  so  chastened  his  harsh- 
ness with  mercy,  that  he  seemed  to  counterweigh  the  one 

532 


BOOK  EIGHT 

with  the  other.  At  this  time  Gant,  the  King  of  Norwav, 
was  visited  by  Ber  (Biorn?)  and  Ref,  men  of  Thule. 
Gatit  treated  Ref  with  attention  and  friendship,  and  pre- 
sented him  with  a  heavy  bracelet. 

One  of  the  courtiers,  when  he  saw  this,  praised  the 
greatness  of  the  gift  over-zealously,  and  declared  that  no 
one  was  equal  to  King  Gaut  in  kindness.  But  Ref, 
though  he  owed  thanks  for  the  benefit,  could  not  approve 
the  inflated  words  of  this  extravagant  praiser,  and  said 
that  Gotrik  was  more  generous  than  Gaut.  Wishing  to 
crush  the  empty  boast  of  the  flatterer,  he  chose  rather  to 
bear  witness  to  the  generosity  of  the  absent  than  tickle 
with  lies  the  vanity  of  his  benefactor  who  was  present. 
For  another  thing,  he  thought  it  somewhat  more  desir- 
able to  be  charged  with  ingratitude  than  to  support  with 
his  assent  such  idle  and  boastful  praise,  and  also  to  move 
the  king  by  the  solemn  truth  than  to  beguile  him  with 
lying  flatteries.  But  Ulf  persisted  not  only  in  stub- 
bornly repeating  his  praises  of  the  king,  but  in 
bringing  them  to  the  proof ;  and  proposed  their  gainsayer 
a  wager. 

With  his  consent  Ref  went  to  Denmark,  and  found 
Gotrik  seated  in  state,  and  dealing  out  the  pay  to  his  sol- 
diers. When  the  king  asked  him  who  he  was,  he  said  that 
his  name  was  "Fox-cub."  The  answer  filled  some  with 
mirth  and  some  with  marvel,  and  Gotrik  said,  "Yea,  and 
it  is  fitting  that  a  fox  should  catch  his  prey  in  his  mouth." 
And  thereupon  he  drew  a  bracelet  from  his  arm.  called  the 
man  to  him,  and  put  it  l^etween  his  lips.  Straightwav 
Ref  put  it  upon  his  arm,  which  he  displayed  to  them  all 

16  533 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

adorned  with  gold,  but  the  other  arm  he  kept  hidden  as 
lacking  ornament;  for  which  shrewdness  he  received  a 
gift  equal  to  the  first  from  that  hand  of  matchless  gen- 
erosity. At  this  he  was  overjoyed,  not  so  much  because 
the  reward  was  great,  as  because  he  had  won  his  conten- 
tion. And  when  the  king  learnt  from  him  about  the 
wager  he  had  laid,  he  rejoiced  that  he  had  been  lavish  to 
him  more  by  accident  than  of  set  purpose,  and  declared 
that  he  got  more  pleasure  from  the  giving  than  the  re- 
ceiver from  the  gift.  So  Ref  returned  to  Norway  and 
slew  his  opponent,  who  refused  to  pay  the  wager.  Then 
he  took  the  daughter  of  Gaut  captive,  and  brought  her  to 
Gotrik  for  his  own. 

Gotrik,  who  is  also  called  Godefride,  carried  his  arms 
against  foreigners,  and  increased  his  strength  and  glory 
,  by  his  successful  generalship.  Among  his  memorable 
deeds  were  the  terms  of  tribute  he  imposed  upon  the  Sax- 
ons; namely,  that  whenever  a  change  of  kings  occurred 
among  the  Danes,  their  princes  should  devote  a  hundred 
snow-white  horses  to  the  new  king  on  his  accession.  But 
if  the  Saxons  should  receive  a  new  chief  upon  a  change 
in  the  succession,  this  chief  was  likewise  to  pay  the  afore- 
said tribute  obediently,  and  bow  at  the  outset  of  his  power 
to  the  sovereign  majesty  of  Denmark;  thereby  acknowl- 
edging the  supremacy  of  our  nation,  and  solemnly  con- 
fessing his  own  subjection.  Nor  was  it  enough  for  Got- 
rik to  subjugate  Germany:  he  appointed  Ref  on  a  mis- 
sion to  try  the  strength  of  Sweden.  The  Swedes  feared 
to  slay  him'  with  open  violence,  but  ventured  to  act  like 
bandits,  and  killed  him,  as  he  slept,  with  the  blow  of  a 

534 


BOOK  EIGHT 

stone.  For,  hanging  a  millstone  above  him,  they  cut  its 
fastenings,  and  let  it  drop  upon  his  neck  as  he  lay  be- 
neath. To  expiate  this  crime  it  was  decreed  that  each 
of  the  ringleaders  should  pay  twelve  golden  talents,  while 
each  of  the  common  people  should  pay  Gotrik  one  ounce. 
Men  called  this  "the  Fox-cub's  tribute."    (Refsgild). 

Meanwhile  it  befell  that  Karl,  King  of  the  Franks, 
crushed  Germany  in  war,  and  forced  it  not  only  to 
embrace  the  worship  of  Christianity,  but  also  to  obey  his 
authority.  When  Gotrik  heard  of  this,  he  attacked  the 
nations  bordering  on  the  Elbe,  and  attempted  to  regain 
under  his  sway  as  of  old  the  realm  of  Saxony,  which 
eagerly  accepted  the  yoke  of  Karl,  and  preferred  the 
Roman  to  the  Danish  arms.  Karl  had  at  this  time  with- 
drawn his  victorious  camp  beyond  the  Rhine,  and  there- 
fore forbore  to  engage  the  stranger  enemy,  being  pre- 
vented by  the  intervening  river.  But  when  he  was  in- 
tending to  cross  once  more  to  subdue  the  power  of  Gotrik, 
he  was  summoned  by  Leo  the  Pope  of  the  Romans  to 
defend  the  city. 

Obeying  this  command,  Karl  intrusted  his  son  Pepin 
with  the  conduct  of  the  war  aganst  Gotrik ;  so  that  while 
he  himself  was  working  against  a  distant  foe,  Pepin  might 
manage  the  conflict  he  had  undertaken  with  his  neigh- 
bour. For  Karl  was  distracted  by  two  anxieties,  and  had 
to  furnish  sufficient  out  of  a  scanty  band  to  meet  both  of 
them.  Meanwhile  Gotrik  won  a  glorious  victory  over 
the  Saxons.  Then  gathering  new  strength,  and  muster- 
mg  a  larger  body  of  forces,  he  resolved  to  avenge  the 
wrong  he  had  suffered  in  losing  his  sovereignty,  not  only 

535 


SAXO  CRAMMATICUS 

upon  the  Saxons,  but  upon  the  whole  people  of  Ger- 
many. He  began  by  subduing  Friesland  with  his  fleet. 
This  province  lies  very  low,  and  whenever  the  fury  of 
the  ocean  bursts  the  dykes  that  bar  its  waves,  it  is  wont  to 
receive  the  whole  mass  of  the  deluge  over  its  open  plains. 
On  this  country  Gotrik  imposed  a  kind  of  tribute,  which 
was  not  so  much  harsh  as  strange.  I  will  briefly  relate 
its  terms  and  the  manner  of  it.  First,  a  building  was 
arranged,  two  hundred  and  forty  feet  in  length,  and 
divided  into  twelve  spaces ;  each  of  these  stretching  over  an 
interval  of  twenty  feet,  and  thus  making  together,  when 
the  whole  room  was  exhausted,  the  aforesaid  total.  Now 
at  the  upper  end  of  this  building  sat  the  king's  treasurer, 
and  in  a  line  with  him  at  its  further  end  was  displayed  a 
round  shield.  When  the  Frisians  came  to  pay  tribute,  they 
used  to  cast  their  coins  one  by  one  into  the  hollow  of  this 
shield;  but  only  those  coins  which  struck  the  ear  of  the 
distant  toll-gatherer  with  a  distinct  clang  were  chosen  by 
him,  as  he  counted,  to  be  reckoned  among  the  royal  tri- 
bute. The  result  was  that  the  collector  only  reckoned 
that  money  towards  the  treasury  of  which  his  distant  ear 
caught  the  sound  as  it  fell.  But  that  of  which  the  sound 
was  duller,  and  which  fell  out  of  his  earshot,  was  received 
indeed  into  the  treasury,  but  did  not  count  as  any  increase 
to  the  sum  paid.  Now  many  coins  that  were  cast  in 
struck  with  no  audible  loudness  whatever  on  the  collec- 
tor's ear,  so  that  men  who  came  to  pay  their  appointed 
toll  sometimes  squandered  much  of  their  money  in  use- 
less tribute.  Karl  is  said  to  have  freed  them  afterwards 
from  the  burden  of  this  tax.     After  Gotrik  had  crossed 

536 


BOOK  EIGHT 

Friesland,  and  Karl  had  now  come  back  from  Rome, 
Gotrik  determined  to  swoop  down  upon  the  further  dis- 
tricts of  Germany,  but  was  treacherously  attacked  by  one 
of  his  own  servants,  and  perished  at  home  by  the  sword 
of  a  traitor.  When  Karl  heard  this,  he  leapt  up  over- 
joyed, declaring-  that  nothing  more  delightful  had  ever 
fallen  to  his  lot  than  this  happy  chance. 


537 


BOOK   NINE. 


AfTER  Gotrik's  death  reigned  his  son  OlaE;  who,  ' 
desirous  to  avenge  his  father,  did  not  hesitate  to  involve 
his  country  in  civil  wars,  putting  patriotism  after  private 
inclination.  When  he  perished,  his  body  was  put  in  a 
barrow,  famous  for  the  name  of  Olaf,  which  was  built  up 
close  by  Lei  re. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Hemming,  of  whom  I  have  found 
no  deed  worthy  of  record,  save  that  he  made  a  sworn 
peace  with  Kaiser  Ludwig;  and  yet,  perhaps,  envious 
antiquity  hides  many  notable  deeds  of  his  time,  albeit  they 
were  then  famous. 

After  these  men  there  came  to  the  throne,  backed  by 
the  Skanians  and  Zealanders,  Siward,  surnamed  Ring. 
He  was  the  son,  bom  long  ago,  of  the  chief  of  Norway 
who  bore  the  same  name,  by  Gotrik's  daughter.  Now 
Ring,  cousin  of  Siward,  and  also  a  grandson  of  Gotrik. 
was  master  of  Jutland.  Thus  the  power  of  the  single 
kingdom  was  divided ;  and.  as  though  its  two  parts  were 
contemptible  for  their  smallness,  foreigners  began  not 
only  to  despise  but  to  attack  it.  These  Siward  assailed 
with  greater  hatred  than  he  did  his  rival  for  the  throne ; 
and,  preferring  wars  abroad  to  wars  at  home,  he  stub- 
bornly defended  his  country  against  dangers  for  five 
years ;  for  he  chose  to  put  up  with  a  trouble  at  home  that 

539 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

he  might  the  more  easily  cure  one  which  came  from 
abroad.  Wherefore  Ring  (desiring  his)  command,  seized 
the  opportunity,  tried  to  transfer  the  whole  sovereignty 
to  himself,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  injure  in  his  own  land 
the  man  who  was  watching  over  it  without;  for  he 
attacked  the  provinces  in  the  possession  of  Siward,  which 
was  an  ungrateful  requital  for  the  defence  of  their  com- 
mon country.  Therefore,  some  of  the  Zealanders  who 
were  more  zealous  for  Siward,  in  order  to  show  him 
firmer  loyalty  in  his  absence,  proclaimed  his  son  lR?ig^,fir  as 
king,  when  he  was  scarcely  dragged  out  of  his  cradle.  Not 
but  what  they  knew  he  was  too  young  to  govern  ;  yet  they 
hoped  that  such  a  gage  would  serve  to  rouse  their  slug- 
gish allies  against  Ring.  But,  when  Ring  heard  that 
Siward  had  meantime  returned  from  his  expedition,  he 
attacked  the  Zealanders  with  a  large  force,  and  pro- 
claimed that  they  should  perish  by  the  sword  if  they  did 
not  surrender;  but  the  Zealanders,  who  were  bidden  to 
choose  between  shame  and  peril,  were  so  few  that  they 
distrusted  their  strength,  and  requested  a  truce  to  consider 
the  matter.  It  was  granted ;  but,  since  it  did  not  seem 
open  to  them  to  seek  the  favour  of  Siward,  nor  hon- 
ourable to  embrace  that  of  Ring,  they  wavered  long  in 
perplexity  between  fear  and  shame.  In  this  plight  even 
the  old  were  at  a  loss  for  counsel ;  but  Ragnar,  who  chanced 
to  be  present  at  the  assembly,  said :  "The  short  bow 
shoots  its  shaft  suddenly.  Though  it  may  seem  the  hardi- 
hood of  a  boy  that  I  venture  to  forestall  the  speech  of  the 
elders,  yet  I  pray  you  to  pardon  my  errors,  and  be  in- 
dulgent to  my  unripe  words.     Yet  the  counsellor  of  wis- 

540 


BOOK  NINE 

dom  is  not  to  be  spurned,  though  he  seem  contemptible; 
for  the  teaching  of  profitable  things  should  be  drunk  in 
with  an  open  mind.  Now  it  is  shameful  that  we  should 
be  branded  as  deserters  and  runaways,  but  it  is  just  as 
foolhardy  to  venture  above  our  strength;  and  thus  there 
is  proved  to  be  equal  blame  either  way.  We  must,  then, 
pretend  to  go  over  to  the  enemy,  but,  when  a  chance  comes 
in  our  way,  we  must  desert  him  betimes.  It  will  thus  be 
better  to  forestall  the  wrath  of  our  foe  by  feigned  obedi- 
ence than,  by  refusing  it,  to  give  him  a  weapon  where- 
with to  attack  us  yet  more  harshly ;  for  if  we  decline  the 
sway  of  the  stronger,  are  we  not  simply  turning  his  arms 
against  our  own  throat?  Intricate  devices  are  often  the 
best  nurse  of  craft.  You  need  cunning  to  trap  a  fox." 
By  this  sound  counsel  he  dispelled  the  wavering  of  his 
countrymen,  and  strengthened  the  camp  of  the  enemy  to 
its  own  hurt. 

The  assembly,  marvelling  at  the  eloquence  as  much  as 
at  the  wit  of  one  so  young,  gladly  embraced  a  proposal  of 
such  genius,  which  they  thought  excellent  beyond  his 
years.  Nor  were  the  old  men  ashamed  to  obey  the  bidding 
of  a  boy  when  they  lacked  counsel  themselves ;  for,  though 
it  came  from  one  of  tender  years,  it  was  full,  notwith- 
standing, of  weighty  and  sound  instruction.  But  they 
feared  to  expose  their  adviser  to  immediate  peril,  and  sent 
him  over  to  Norway  to  l>e  brought  up.  Soon  afterwards, 
Si  ward  joined  battle  with  Ring  and  attacked  him.  He 
slew  Ring,  but  himself  received  an  incurable  wound,  of 
which  he  died  a  few  days  afterwards. 

He  was  succeeded  on  the  throne  by  Ragnar.     At  this 

541 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

time  Fro  (Frey?),  the  King  of  Sweden,  after  slaying 
Siward,  the  King  of  the  Norwegians,  put  the  wives  of 
Siward's  kinsfolk  in  bonds  in  a  brothel,  and  delivered 
them  to  public  outrage.  When  Ragnar  heard  of  this,  he 
went  to  Norway  to  avenge  his  grandfather.  As  he 
came,  many  of  the  matrons,  who  had  either  suffered  in- 
sult to  their  persons  or  feared  imminent  peril  to  their 
chastity,  hastened  eagerly  to  his  camp  in  male  attire,  de- 
claring that  they  would  prefer  death  to  outrage.  Nor 
did  Ragnar,  who  was  to  punish  this  reproach  upon  the 
women,  scorn  to  use  against  the  author  of  the  infamy 
the  help  of  those  whose  shame  he  had  come  to  avenge. 
Among  them  was  Ladgerda,  a  skilled  amazon,  who, 
though  a  maiden,  had  the  courage  of  a  man,  and  fought 
in  front  among  the  bravest  with  her  hair  loose  over  her 
shoulders.  All  marvelled  at  her  matchless  deeds,  for  her 
locks  flying  down  her  back  betrayed  that  she  was  a 
woman. 

Ragnar,  when  he  had  justly  cut  down  the  murderer 
of  his  grandfather,  asked  many  questions  of  his  fellow- 
soldiers  concerning  the  maiden  whom  he  had  seen  so 
forward  in  the  fray,  and  declared  that  he  had  gained 
the  victory  by  the  might  of  one  woman.  Learning  that 
she  was  of  noble  birth  among  the  barbarians,  he  stead- 
fastly wooed  her  by  means  of  messengers.  She  spurned 
his  mission  in  her  heart,  but  feigned  compliance.  Giv- 
ing false  answers,  she  made  her  panting  wooer  confident 
that  he  would  gain  his  desires;  but  ordered  that  a  bear 
and  a  dog  should  be  set  at  the  porch  of  her  dwelling, 
thinking  to  guard  her  own  room  against  all  the  ardour 

542 


f^fiyiis^rt^.  {loK\\^jf^fjp  i)^^3hr^i^ 


J 


BOOK  NINE 

of  a  lover  by  means  of  the  beasts  that  blocked  the  way. 
Ragnar,  comforted  by  the  good  news,  embarked,  crossed 
the  sea,  and,  telling  his  men  to  stop  in  Gaulardale,  as  the 
valley  is  called,  went  to  the  dwelling  of  the  maiden  alone. 
Here  the  beasts  met  him,  and  he  thrust  one  through  with 
a  spear,  and  caught  the  other  by  the  throat,  wrung  its 
neck,  and  choked  it.  Thus  he  had  the  maiden  as  the 
prize  of  the  peril  he  had  overcome.  By  this  marriage  he 
had  two  daughters,  whose  names  have  not  come  down  to 
us,  and  a  son  Fridleif.  Then  he  lived  three  years  at 
peace 

The  Jutlanders,  a  presumptuous  race,  thinking  that 
because  of  his  recent  marriage  he  would  never  return, 
took  the  Skanians  into  alliance,  and  tried  to  attack  the 
Zealanders,  who  preserved  the  most  zealous  and  affection- 
ate loyalty  towards  Ragnar.  He,  when  he  heard  of  it, 
equipped  thirty  ships,  and,  the  winds  favouring  his  voy- 
age, crushed  the  Skanians,  who  ventured  to  fight,  near  the 
stead  of  Whiteby,  and  when  the  winter  was  over  he 
fought  successfully  with  the  Jutlanders  who  dwelt  near 
the  Liim-fjord  in  that  region.  A  third  and  a  fourth  time 
he  conquered  the  Skanians  and  the  Hallanders  trium- 
phantly. 

Afterwards,  changing  his  love,  and  desiring  Thora,  the 
daughter  of  the  King  Herodd.  to  wife,  Ragnar  divorced 
himself  from  Ladgerda;  for  he  thought  ill  of  her  trust- 
worthiness, rememl^ering  that  she  had  long  ago  set  the 
most  savage  beasts  to  destroy  him.  Meantime  Herodd, 
the  King  of  the  Swedes,  happening  to  go  and  hunt  in 
the   woods,  brought   home   some  snakes,   found  by  his 

543 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

escort,  for  his  daughter  to  rear.  She  speedily  obeyed  the 
instructions  of  her  father,  and  endured  to  rear  a  race  of 
adders  with  her  maiden  hands.  Moreover,  she  took  care 
that  they  should  daily  have  a  whole  ox-carcase  to  gorge 
upon,  not  knowing  that  she  was  privately  feeding  and 
keeping  up  a  public  nuisance.  The  vipers  grew  up,  and 
scorched  the  country-side  with  their  pestilential  breath. 
Whereupon  the  king,  repenting  of  his  sluggishness,  pro- 
claimed tliat  whosoever  removed  the  pest  should  have  his 
daughter. 

Many  warriors  were  thereto  attracted  by  courage  as 
much  as  by  desire;  but  all  idly  and  perilously  wasted 
their  pains.  Ragnar,  learning  from  men  who  travelled 
to  and  fro  how  the  matter  stood,  asked  his  nurse  for  a 
woolen  mantle,  and  for  some  thigh-pieces  that  were  very 
hairy,  with  which  he  could  repel  the  snake-bites.  He 
thought  that  he  ought  to  use  a  dress  stuffed  with  hair  to 
protect  himself,  and  also  took  one  that  was  not  unwieldy, 
that  he  might  move  nimbly.  And  when  he  had  landed 
in  Sweden,  he  deliberately  plunged  his  body  in  water, 
while  there  was  a  frost  falling,  and,  wetting  his  dress, 
to  make  it  the  less  penetrable,  he  let  the  cold  freeze  it. 
Thus  attired,  he  took  leave  of  his  companions,  exhorted 
them  to  remain  loyal  to  Fridleif,  and  went  on  to  the 
palace  alone.  When  he  saw  it,  he  tied  his  sword  to  his 
side,  and  lashed  a  spear  to  his  right  hand  with  a  thong. 
As  he  went  on,  an  enormous  snake  glided  up  and  met 
him..  Another,  equally  huge,  crawled  up,  following  in 
the  trail  of  the  first.  They  strove  now  to  buffet  the  young 
man  with  the  coils  of  their  tails,  and  now  to  spit  and 

544 


BOOK  NINE 

belch  their  venom  stubbornly  upon  him.  Meantime  the 
courtiers,  betaking  themselves  to  safer  hiding,  watched 
the  struggle  from  afar  like  affrighted  little  girls  The  king 
was  stricken  with  equal  fear,  and  fled,  with  a  few  follow- 
ers, to  a  narrow  shelter.  But  Ragnar,  trusting  in  the 
hardness  of  his  frozen  dress,  foiled  the  poisonous  assaults 
not  only  with  his  arms,  but  with  his  attire,  and,  single- 
handed,  in  unweariable  combat,  stood  up  against  the  two 
gaping  creatures,  who  stubbornly  poured  forth  their 
venom  upon  him.  For  their  teeth  he  repelled  with  his 
shield,  their  poison  with  his  dress.  At  last  he  cast  his 
spear,  and  drove  it  against  the  bodies  of  the  brutes,  who 
were  attacking  him  hard.  He  pierced  both  their  hearts, 
and  his  battle  ended  in  victory. 

After  Ragnar  had  thus  triumphed  the  king  scanned  his 
dress  closely,  and  saw  that  he  whs  rough  and  hairy ;  but, 
above  all,  he  laughed  at  the  shaggy  lower  portion  of  his 
garb,  and  chiefly  the  uncouth  aspect  of  his  breeches ;  so 
that  he  gave  him  in  jest  the  nickname  of  Lodbrog.  Also 
he  invited  him  to  feast  with  his  friends,  to  refresh  him 
after  his  labours.  Ragnar  said  that  he  W'Ould  first  go 
back  to  the  witnesses  whom  he  had  left  behind.  He  set 
out  and  brought  them  back,  splendidly  attired  for  the 
coming  feast.  At  last,  when  the  banquet  was  over,  he 
received  the  prize  that  was  appointed  for  the  victory.  '' 
By  her  he  begot  two  nobly-gifted  sons,  Radbard  and 
Dunwat.  These  also  had  brothers — Siward,  Biorn,  Ag- 
nar,  and  Iwar. 

Meanwhile,  the  Jutes  and  Skanians  were  kindled  with 
an   unquenchable   fire  of  sedition ;   they   disallowed   the 

545 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

title  of  Ragnar,  and  gave  a  certain  Harald  the  sovereign 
power,  Ragnar  sent  envoys  to  Norway,  and  besought 
friendly  assistance  against  these  men;  and  Ladgerda, 
whose  early  love  still  flowed  deep  and  steadfast,  hastily 
sailed  off  with  her  husband  and  her  son.  She  brought 
herself  to  offer  a  hundred  and  twenty  ships  to  the  man 
who  had  once  put  her  away.  And  he,  thinking  himself 
destitute  of  all  resources,  took  to  borrowing  help  from 
folk  of  every  age,  crowded  the  strong  and  the  feeble  all 
together,  and  was  not  ashamed  to  insert  some  old  men 
and  boys  among  the  wedges  of  the  strong.  So  he  first 
tried  to  crush  the  power  of  the  Skanians  in  the  field 
which  in  Latin  is  called  Laneus  (Woolly)  ;  here  he  had  a 
hard  fight  with  the  rebels.  Here,  too,  Iwar,  who  was  in 
his  seventh  year,  fought  splendidly,  and  showed  the 
strength  of  a  man  in  the  body  of  a  boy.  But  Siward, 
while  attacking  the  enemy  face  to  face,  fell  forward  upon 
the  ground  wounded.  When  his  men  saw  this,  it  made 
them  look  round  most  anxiously  for  means  of  flight ;  and 
this  brought  low  not  only  Siward,  but  almost  the  whole 
army  on  the  side  of  Ragnar,  But  Ragnar  by  his  manly 
deeds  and  exhortations  comforted  their  amazed  and 
sunken  spirits,  and,  just  when  they  were  ready  to  be  con- 
quered, spurred  them  on  to  try  and  conquer. 

Ladgerda,  who  had  a  matchless  spirit  though  a  delicate 
frame,  covered  by  her  splendid  bravery  the  inclination 
of  the  soldiers  to  waver.  For  she  made  a  sally  about,  and 
flew  round  to  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  taking  them  un- 
awares, and  thus  turned  the  panic  of  her  friends  into  the 
camp  of  the  enemy.    At  last  the  lines  of  Harald  became 

546 


BOOK  NINE 

slack,  and  Harald  himself  was  routed  with  a  great 
slaughter  of  his  men.  Ladgerda,  when  she  had  gone  home 
after  the  battle,  murdered  her  husband.  ...  in  the  night 
with  a  spear-head,  which  she  had  hid  in  her  gown.  Then 
she  usurped  the  whole  of  his  name  and  sovereignty;  for 
this  most  presumptuous  dame  thought  it  pleasanter  to  rule 
without  her  husband  than  to  share  the  throne  w-ith  him. 

Meantime,  Si  ward  was  taken  to  a  town  in  the  neigh- 
•bourhood,  and  gave  himself  to  be  tended  by  the  doctors, 
who  were  reduced  to  the  depths  of  despair.  But  while 
the  huge  wound  baffled  all  the  remedies  they  applied,  a 
certain  man  of  amazing  size  was  seen  to  approach  the 
litter  of  the  sick  man,  and  promised  that  Siward  should 
straightway  rejoice  and  be  whole,  if  he  would  consecrate 
unto  him  the  souls  of  all  w'hom  he  should  overcome  in 
battle.  Nor  did  he  conceal  his  name,  but  said  that  he 
w^as  called  Rostar.  Now  Siward,  when  he  saw  that  a 
great  benefit  could  be  got  at  the  cost  of  a  little  promise, 
eagerly  acceded  to  this  request.  Then  the  old  man  sud- 
denly, by  the  help  of  his  hand,  touched  and  banished 
the  livid  spot,  and  suddenly  scarred  the  wound  over.  At 
last  he  poured  dust  on  his  eyes  and  departed.  Spots 
suddenly  arose,  and  the  dust,  to  the  amaze  of  the  be- 
holders, seemed  to  become  w^onderfully  like  little  snakes. 

I  should  think  that  he  who  did  this  miracle  wished  to 
declare,  by  the  manifest  token  of  his  eyes,  that  the  young 
man  was  to  be  cruel  in  future,  in  order  that  the  more 
visible  part  of  his  body  might  not  lack  some  omen  of  his 
life  that  was  to  follow.  When  the  old  woman,  who  had 
the  care  of  his  draughts,  saw  him  showing  in  his  face 

547 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

signs  of  little  snakes,  she  was  seized  with  an  extraordi- 
nary horror  of  the  young  man,  and  suddenly  fell  and 
swooned  away.  Hence  it  happened  that  Siward  got  the 
widespread  name  of  Snake-Eye. 

Meantime  Thora,  the  bride  of  Ragnar,  perished  of  a 
violent  malady,  which  caused  infinite  trouble  and  dis- 
tress to  the  husband,  who  dearly  loved  his  wife.  This 
distress,  he  thought,  would  be  best  dispelled  by  business, 
and  he  resolved  to  find  solace  in  exercise  and  qualify  his 
grief  by  toil.  To  banish  his  affliction  and  gain  some  com- 
fort, he  bent  his  thoughts  to  warfare,  and  decreed  that 
every  father  of  a  family  should  devote  to  his  service 
whichever  of  his  children  he  thought  most  contemptible, 
or  any  slave  of  his  who  was  lazy  at  his  work  or  of 
doubtful  fidelity.  And  albeit  that  this  decree  seemed  little 
fitted  for  his  purpose,  he  showed  that  the  feeblest  of  the 
Danish  race  were  better  than  the  strongest  men  of  other 
nations;  and  it  did  the  young  men  great  good,  each  of 
those  chosen  being  eager  to  wipe  off  the  reproach  of  in- 
dolence. Also  he  enacted  that  every  piece  of  litigation 
should  be  referred  to  the  judgment  of  twelve  chosen 
elders,  all  ordinary  methods  of  action  being  removed,  the 
accuser  being  forbidden  to  charge,  and  the  accused  to 
defend.  This  law  removed  all  chance  of  incurring  liti- 
gation lightl3^  Thinking  that  there  was  thus  sufficient 
provision  made  against  false  accusations  by  unscrupulous 
men,  he  lifted  up  his  arms  against  Britain,  and  attacked 
and  slew  in  battle  its  king,  Hame,  the  father  of  Ella,  who 
was  a  most  noble  youth.  Then  he  killed  the  earls  of 
Scotland  and  of  Pictland,  and  of  the  isles  that  they  call 

548 


BOOK  NINn 

the  Southern  or  Meridional  (Sudr-eyar),  and  made  his 
sons  Siward  and  Radbard  masters  of  the  provinces, 
which  were  now  without  governors.  He  also  deprived 
Norway  of  its  chief  by  force,  and  commanded  it  to  obey 
Fridleif,  whom  he  also  set  over  the  Orkneys,  from  which 
he  took  their  own  earl. 

Meantime,  some  of  the  Danes  who  were  most  stubborn 
in  their  hatred  against  Ragnar  were  obstinately  bent  on 
rebellion.  They  rallied  to  the  side  of  Harald,  once  an 
exile,  and  tried  to  raise  the  fallen  fortunes  of  the  tyrant. 
By  this  hardihood  they  raised  up  against  the  king  the 
most  virulent  blasts  of  civil  war,  and  entangled  him  in 
domestic  perils  when  he  was  free  from  foreign  troubles. 
Ragnar,  setting  out  to  check  them  with  a  fleet  of  the 
Danes  who  lived  in  the  isles,  crushed  the  army  of  the 
rebels,  drove  Harald,  the  leader  of  the  conquered  army, 
a  fugitive  to  Germany,  and  forced  him  to  resign  unbash- 
fully  an  honour  which  he  had  gained  without  scruple. 
Nor  was  he  content  simply  to  kill  his  prisoners :  he  pre- 
ferred to  torture  them  to  death,  so  that  those  who  could 
not  be  induced  to  forsake  their  disloyalty  might  not  be 
so  much  as  suffered  to  give  up  the  ghost  save  under  the 
most  grievous  punishment.  Moreover,  the  estates  of 
those  who  had  deserted  with  Harald  he  distributed  among 
those  who  were  serving  as  his  soldiers,  thinking  that  the 
fathers  would  be  worse  punished  by  seeing  the  honour 
of  their  inheritance  made  over  to  the  children  whom  they 
had  rejected,  while  those  whom  they  had  loved  better 
lost  their  patrimony.  But  even  this  did  not  sate  his  ven- 
geance,  and  he   further   determined  to   attack   Saxony, 

17  549 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

thinking  it  the  refuge  of  his  foes  and  the  retreat  of 
Harald.  So,  begging  his  sons  to  help  him,  he  came  on 
Karl,  who  happened  then  to  be  tarrying  on  those  borders 
of  his  empire.  Intercepting  his  sentries,  he  eluded  the 
watch  that  was  posted  on  guard.  But  while  he  thought 
that  all  the  rest  would  therefore  be  easy  and  more  open 
to  his  attacks,  suddenly  a  woman  who  was  a  sooth- 
sayer, a  kind  of  divine  oracle  or  interpreter  of  the  will  of 
heaven,  warned  the  king  with  a  saving  prophecy,  and  by 
her  fortunate  presage  forestalled  the  mischief  that  im- 
pended, saying  that  the  fleet  of  Siward  had  moored  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Seine.  The  emperor,  heeding  the 
warning,  and  understanding  that  the  enemy  was  at  hand, 
managed  to  engage  with  and  stop  the  barbarians,  who 
were  thus  pointed  out  to  him.  A  battle  was  fought  with 
Ragnar;  but  Karl  did  not  succeed  as  happily  in  the  field 
as  he  had  got  warning  of  the  danger.  And  so  that  tire- 
less conqueror  of  almost  all  Europe,  who  in  his  calm  and 
complete  career  of  victory  had  travelled  over  so  great  a 
portion  of  the  world,  now  beheld  his  army,  which  had 
vanquished  all  these  states  and  nations,  turning  its  face 
from  the  field,  and  shattered  by  a  handful  from  a  single 
province. 

Ragnar,  after  loading  the  Saxons  with  tribute,  had 
sure  tidings  from  Sweden  of  the  death  of  Herodd,  and 
also  heard  that  his  own  sons,  owing  to  the  slander  of 
Sorle,  the  king  chosen  in  his  stead,  had  been  robbed  of 
their  inheritance.  He  besought  the  aid  of  the  brothers 
Biorn,  Fridleif,  and  Ragbard  (for  Ragnald,  Hwitserk, 
and  Erik,  his  sons  by  Swanloga,  had  not  yet  reached  the 

550 


BOOK  NINE 

age  of  bearing  arms),  and  went  to  Sweden.  Sorle  met 
him  with  his  army,  and  offered  him  the  choice  between  a 
public  conflict  and  a  duel;  and  when  Ragnar  chose 
personal  combat,  he  sent  against  him  Starkad,  a  cham- 
pion of  approved  daring,  with  his  band  of  seven  sons, 
to  challenge  and  fight  with  him.  Ragnar  took  his  three 
sons  to  share  the  battle  with  him.  engaged  in  the  sight 
of  both  armies,  and  came  out  of  the  combat  triumphant. 
Biom,  having  inflicted  great  slaughter  on  the  foe 
without  hurt  to  himself,  gained  from  the  strength  of  his 
sides,  which  were  like  iron,  a  perpetual  name  (Ironsides). 
This  victory  emboldened  Ragnar  to  hope  that  he  could 
overcome  any  peril,  and  he  attacked  and  slew  Sorle  with 
the  entire  forces  he  was  leading.  He  presented  Biorn 
with  the  lordship  of  Sweden  for  his  conspicuous  bravery 
and  service.  Then  for  a  little  interval  he  rested  from 
wars,  and  chanced  to  fall  deeply  in  love  with  a  certain 
woman.  In  order  to  find  some  means  of  approaching 
and  winning  her  the  more  readily,  he  courted  her  father 
(Esbern)  by  showing  him  the  most  obliging  and  atten- 
tive kindness.  He  often  invited  him  to  banquets,  and 
received  him  with  lavish  courtesy.  When  he  came,  he 
paid  him  the  respect  of  rising,  and  when  he  sat,  he  hon- 
oured him  with  a  set  next  to  himself.  He  also  often 
comforted  him  with  gifts,  and  at  times  with  the  most 
kindly  speech.  The  man  saw  that  no  merits  of  his  own 
could  be  the  cause  of  all  this  distinction,  and  casting  over 
the  matter  every  way  in  his  mind,  he  perceived  that  the 
generosity  of  his  monarch  was  caused  by  his  love  for  his 
daughter,  and  that  he  coloured  this  lustful  purpose  with 

551 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

the  name  of  kindness.  But,  that  he  might  balk  the 
cleverness  of  the  lover,  however  well  calculated,  he  had 
the  girl  watched  all  the  more  carefully  that  he  saw  her 
beset  by  secret  aims  and  obstinate  methods.  But  Ragnar, 
who  was  comforted  by  the  surest  tidings  of  her  consent, 
went  to  the  farmhouse  in  which  she  was  kept,  and  fancy- 
ing that  love  must  find  out  a  way,  repaired  alone  to  a 
certain  peasant  in  a  neighbouring  lodging.  In  the  morn- 
ing he  exchanged  dress  with  the  women,  and  went  in 
female  attire,  and  stood  by  his  mistress  as  she  was  un- 
winding wool.  Cunningly,  to  avoid  betrayal,  he  set  his 
hands  to  the  work  of  a  maiden,  though,  they  were  little 
skilled  in  the  art.  In  the  night  he  embraced  the  maiden 
and  gained  his  desire.  When  her  time  drew  near,  and 
the  girl  growing  big,  betrayed  her  outraged  chastity,  the 
father,  not  knowing  to  whom  his  daughter  had  given 
herself  to  be  defiled,  persisted  in  asking  the  girl  herself 
who  was  the  unknown  seducer.  She  steadfastly  affirmed 
that  she  had  had  no  one  to  share  her  bed  except  her 
handmaid,  and  he  made  the  affair  over  to  the  king  to 
search  into.  He  would  not  allow  an  innocent  servant  to 
be  branded  with  an  extraordinary  charge,  and  was  not 
ashamed  to  prove  another's  innocence  by  avowing  his 
own  guilt.  By  this  generosity  he  partially  removed  the 
woman's  reproach,  and  prevented  an  absurd  report  from 
being  sown  in  the  ears  of  the  wicked.  Also  he  added, 
that  the  son  to  be  born  of  her  was  of  his  own  line,  and 
that  he  wished  him  to  be  named  Ubbe.  When  this  son 
had  grown  up  somewhat,  his  wit,  despite  his  tender 
years,   equalled  the  discernment  of  manhood.     For  he 

552 


BOOK  NINE 

took  to  loving  his  mother,  since  she  had  had  converse 
with  a  noble  bed,  but  cast  off  all  respect  for  his  father, 
because  he  had  stooped  to  a  union  too  lowly. 

After  this  Ragnar  prepared  an  expedition  against  the 
Hellespontines,  and  summoned  an  assembly  of  the  Danes, 
promising  that  he  would  give  the  people  most  wholesome 
laws.  He  had  enacted  before  that  each  father  of  a 
household  should  offer  for  service  that  one  among  his 
sons  whom  he  esteemed  least;  but  now  he  enacted  that 
each  should  arm  the  son  who  was  stoutest  of  hand  or  of 
most  approved  loyalty.  Thereon,  taking  all  the  sons  he 
had  by  Thora,  in  addition  to  Ubbe,  he  attacked,  crushed 
in  sundry  campaigns,  and  subdued  the  Hellespont  with 
its  king  Dia.  At  last  he  involved  the  same  king  in  dis- 
aster after  disaster,  and  slew  him.  Dia's  sons,  Dia  and 
Daxo,  who  had  before  married  the  daughters  of  the 
Russian  king,  begged  forces  from  their  father-in-law, 
and  rushed  with  most  ardent  courage  to  the  work  of 
avenging  their  father.  But  Ragnar,  when  he  saw  their 
boundless  army,  distrusted  his  own  forces;  and  he  put 
brazen  horses  on  wheels  that  could  be  drawn  easily,  took 
them  round  on  carriages  that  would  turn,  and  ordered 
that  they  should  be  driven  with  the  utmost  force  against 
the  thickest  ranks  of  the  enemy.  This  device  served  so 
well  to  break  the  line  of  the  foe,  that  the  Danes'  hope 
of  conquest  seemed  to  lie  more  in  the  engine  than  in  the 
soldiers :  for  its  insupportable  weight  overwhelmed  what- 
ever it  struck.  Thus  one  of  the  leaders  was  killed,  while 
one  made  off  in  flight,  and  the  whole  army  of  the  area 
of  the  Hellespont  retreated.     The  Scythians,  also,  who 

553 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

were  closely  related  by  blood  to  Daxo  on  the  mother's 
side,  are  said  to  have  been  crushed  in  the  same  disaster. 
Their  province  was  made  over  to  Hwitserk,  and  the  king 
of  the  Russians,  trusting  little  in  his  own  strength,  has- 
tened to  fly  out  of  the  reach  of  the  terrible  arms  of 
Ragnar. 

Now  Ragnar  had  spent  almost  five  years  in  sea-roving, 
and  had  quickly  compelled  all  other  nations  to  submit; 
but  he  found  the  Perms  in  open  defiance  of  his  sover- 
eignty. He  had  just  conquered  themt,  but  their  loyalty 
was  weak.  When  they  heard  that  he  had  come  they  cast 
spells  upon  the  sky,  stirred  up  the  clouds,  and  drove  them 
into  most  furious  storms.  This  for  some  time  prevented 
the  Danes  from  voyaging,  and  caused  their  supply  of 
food  to  fail.  Then,  again,  the  storm  suddenly  abated, 
and  now  they  were  scorched  by  the  most  fervent  and 
burning  heat ;  nor  was  this  plague  any  easier  to  bear  than 
the  great  and  violent  cold  had  been.  Thus  the  mischiev- 
ous excess  in  both  directions  affected  their  bodies  alter- 
nately, and  injured  them  by  an  immoderate  increase  first 
of  cold  and  then  of  heat.  Moreover,  dysentery  killed 
most  of  them.  So  the  mass  of  the  Danes,  being  pent  in 
by  the  dangerous  state  of  the  weather,  perished  of  the 
bodily  plague  that  arose  on  every  side.  And  when  Rag- 
nar saw  that  he  was  hindered,  not  so  much  by  a  natural 
as  by  a  factitious  tempest,  he  held  on  his  voyage  as  best 
he  could,  and  got  to  the  country  of  the  Kurlanders  and 
Sembs,  who  paid  zealous  honour  to  his  might  and  ma- 
jesty, as  if  he  were  the  most  revered  of  conquerors.  This 
service  enraged  the  king  all  the  more  against  the  arro- 

554 


^5 

W(  od  to  Daxo  on  the  mother's 

crushed  in  the  same  disaster, 

er  to  Hwitserk,  and  the  king 

■     his  own  strength,  has- 

f  the  terrible  arms  of 

sea-roving, 

submit; 

rerms  in  open  u  "  wer- 

ii'j  iiavi  jn?t  C'"" ~'i  theKi,  uul  uicu   luyalty 

RAGimiR^a  PERIL  IN  PERMLAMDcome  they  cast 
:i^/,<ii<'  J'f}%  P9-inu>i,Q  b}^-,ji:.  Bprgsit^n,^^  ^.^,-,^1  drove  them 

*  ^  victories  until  he  had  brought  all  the  neighboring  nations  r 
to  a^c1AoW{^a|^  fes^'T^o^e^ 'ir'lf&  f^"yoifcWfe^'his^'^s'-oV^er^e\W  "^^ 
The  tiPermR  altJiiie  refii^edno-lll^flatblettohemtsetias.sBtitJ  ^lifg  ^khfl-tcd , 

^^l^af^l.''fM^^-  ¥Rg5^^f\\'^eth^(:Wt^e#  l?5^tt^jetlwyjjfipnfljrjx^ttoand 

decoy  him  away  from  his  ships. -and ibvretresUJrie  led  hdmt.so,£aru 

•  .  Dili'iimo:  neat;  nor  \v,^s/fhjs  nlsMe  aw  a^ret  m  li^rthan 

into  the  country  during  mid-wmter  tnat  his  ^my  sufrered  in- 
cred^eft  g&M4hiii^,lahii'Wii^  iJfti4sl^?6lalH^acstr£j^«^#¥he^^6'WV^v- 
ous  excess  in  both  directions  affected  tlieir  bodies  alter- 
nately, and  injured  them  by  an  immoderate  increase  first 
of  cold  and  then  of  heat.  Moreover,  dysentery  killed 
most  of  them.  So  the  mass  of  the  Danes,  bein«r  T>*^t  in 
'  \-  r'-^  dangerous  state  of  the  weather,  peri 

leiie  that  arose  on  every  side.    And  ^- 

t  he  was  hindered,  not  so  mur  al 

vus  tempest,  he  held  on  r  as  best 

the  conntrv  of  th  and 


he  were  t 
,   d  the  king  more 

554 


;3 
)-- 


BOOK  NINE 

gance  of  the  men  of  Permland,  and  he  attempted  to 
avenge  his  shghted  dignity  by  a  sudden  attack.  Their 
king,  whose  name  is  not  known,  was  struck  with  panic 
at  such  a  sudden  invasion  of  the  enemy,  and  at  the  same 
time  had  no  heart  to  join  battle  with  them;  and  fled  to 
Matul,  the  prince  of  Finmark.  He,  trusting  in  the  great 
skill  of  his  archers,  harassed  with  impunity  the  army  of 
Ragnar,  which  was  wintering  in  Permland.  For  the 
Finns,  who  are  wont  to  glide  on  slippery  timbers  (snow- 
skates),  scud  along  at  whatever  pace  they  will,  and  are 
considered  to  be  able  to  approach  or  depart  very  quickly ; 
for  as  soon  as  they  have  damaged  the  enemy  they  fly 
away  as  speedily  as  they  approach,  nor  is  the  retreat  they 
make  quicker  than  their  charge.  Thus  their  vehicles  and 
their  bodies  are  so  nimble  that  they  acquire  the  utmost 
expertness  both  in  advance  and  flight. 

Ragnar  was  filled  with  amazement  at  the  poorness  of 
his  fortunes  when  he  saw  that  he,  who  had  conquered 
Rome  at  its  pinnacle  of  power,  was  dragged  by  an  un- 
armed and  uncouth  race  into  the  utmost  peril.  He,  there- 
fore, who  had  signally  crushed  the  most  glorious  flower 
of  the  Roman  soldiery,  and  the  forces  of  a  most  great 
and  serene  captain,  now  yielded  to  a  base  mob  with  the 
poorest  and  slenderest  equipment;  and  he  whose  lustre 
in  war  the  might  of  the  strongest  race  on  earth  had 
failed  to  tarnish,  was  now  too  weak  to  withstand  the 
tiny  band  of  a  miserable  tribe.  Hence,  with  that  force 
which  had  helped  him  bravely  to  defeat  the  most  famous 
pomp  in  all  the  world  and  the  weightiest  weapon  of 
military  power,  and  to  subdue  in  the  field  all  that  thunder- 

555 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

ous  foot,  horse,  and  encampment;  with  this  he  had  now, 
stealthily  and  like  a  thief,  to  endure  the  attacks  of  a 
wretched  and  obscure  populace;  nor  must  he  blush  to 
stain  by  a  treachery  in  the  night  that  noble  glory  of  his 
which  had  been  won  in  the  light  of  day :  for  he  took  to 
a  secret  ambuscade  instead  of  open  bravery.  This  affair 
was  as  profitable  in  its  issue  as  it  was  unhandsome  in 
the  doing. 

Ragner  was  equally  as  well  pleased  at  the  flight  of  the 
Finns  as  he  had  been  at  that  of  Karl,  and  owned  that  he 
had  found  more  strength  in  that  defenceless  people  than 
in  the  best  equipped  soldiery;  for  he  found  the  heaviest 
weapons  of  the  Romans  easier  to  bear  than  the  light 
darts  of  this  ragged  tribe.  Here,  after  killing  the  king 
of  the  Perms  and  routing  the  king  of  the  Finns,  Ragnar 
set  an  eternal  memorial  of  his  victory  on  the  rocks,  which 
bore  the  characters  of  his  deeds  on  their  face,  and  looked 
down  upon  themi 

Meanwhile  Ubbe  was  led  by  his  grandfather,  Esbern, 
to  conceive  an  unholy  desire  for  the  throne;  and,  casting 
away  all  thought  of  the  reverence  due  to  his  father,  he 
claimed  the  emblem  of  royalty  for  his  own  head. 

When  Ragnar  heard  of  his  arrogance  from  Kelther  and 
Thorkill,  the  earls  of  Sweden,  he  made  a  hasty  voyage 
towards  Gothland.  Esbern,  finding  that  these  men  were 
attached  with  a  singular  loyalty  to  the  side  of  Ragnar, 
tried  to  bribe  them  to  desert  the  king.  But  they  did  not 
swerve  from  their  purpose,  and  replied  that  their  will 
depended  on  that  of  Biorn,  declaring  that  not  a  single 
Swede  would  dare  to  do  what  went  against  his  pleasure. 

556 


BOOK  NINE 

Esbern  speedily  made  an  attempt  on  Biorn  himself,  ad- 
dressing him  most  courteously  through  his  envoys.  Biorn 
said  that  he  would  never  lean  more  to  treachery  than 
to  good  faith,  and  judged  that  it  would  be  a  most  abom- 
inable thing  to  prefer  the  favour  of  an  infamous  brother 
to  the  love  of  a  most  righteous  father.  The  envoys 
themselves  he  punished  with  hanging,  because  they  coun- 
selled him  to  so  grievous  a  crime.  The  Swedes,  more- 
over, slew  the  rest  of  the  train  of  the  envoys  in  the  same 
way,  as  a  punishment  for  their  mischievous  advice.  So 
Eshjern,  thinking  that  his  secret  and  stealthy  manoeuvres 
did  not  succeed  fast  enough,  mustered  his  forces  openly, 
and  w^ent  publicly  forth  to  war.  But  Iwar,  the  governor 
of  Jutland,  seeing  no  righteousness  on  either  side  of  the 
impious  conflict,  avoided  an  unholy  war  by  voluntary 
exile. 

Ragnar  attacked  and  slew  Esbern  in  the  bay  that 
is  called  in  Latin  Viridis ;  he  cut  off  the  dead  man's  head 
and  bade  it  be  set  upon  the  ship's  prow,  a  dreadful  sight 
for  the  seditious.  But  Ubbe  took  to  flight,  and  again 
attacked  his  father,  having  revived  the  war  in  Zealand. 
Ubbe's  ranks  broke,  and  he  was  assailed  single-handed 
from  all  sides ;  but  he  felled  so  many  of  the  enemy's  line 
that  he  was  surrounded  with  a  pile  of  the  corpses  of  the 
foe  as  with  a  strong  bulwark,  and  easily  checked  his 
assailants  from  approaching.  At  last  he  was  over- 
whelmed by  the  thickening  masses  of  the  enemy,  cap- 
tured, and  taken  off  to  be  laden  with  public  fetters.  By 
immense  violence  he  disentangled  his  chains  and  cut  them 
away.     But  when  he  tried  to  sunder  and  rend  the  bonds 

557 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

that  were  (then)  put  upon  him,  he  could  not  in  any  wise 
escape  his  bars.  But  when  Iwar  heard  that  the  rising 
in  his  country  had  been  quelled  by  the  punishment  of  the 
rebel,  he  went  to  Denmark.  Ragnar  received  him  with 
the  greatest  honour,  because,  while  the  unnatural  war 
had  raged  its  fiercest,  he  had  behaved  with  the  most  entire 
filial  respect. 

Meanwhile  Daxo  long  and  vainly  tried  to  overcome 
Hwitserk,  who  ruled  over  Sweden ;  but  at  last  he  en- 
trapped him  under  pretence  of  making  a  peace,  and 
attacked  him.  Hwitserk  received  him  hospitably,  but 
Daxo  had  prepared  an  army  with  weapons,  who  were  to 
feign  to  be  trading,  ride  into  the  city  in  carriages,  and 
break  with  a  night-attack  into  the  house  of  their  host. 
Hwitserk  smote  this  band  of  robbers  with  such  a 
slaughter  that  he  was  surrounded  with  a  heap  of  his 
enemies'  bodies,  and  could  only  be  taken  by  letting  down 
ladders  from  above.  Twelve  of  his  companions,  who 
were  captured  at  the  same  time  by  the  enemy,  were  given 
leave  to  go  back  to  their  country ;  but  they  gave  up  their 
lives  for  their  king,  and  chose  to  share  the  dangers  of 
another  rather  than  be  quit  of  their  own. 

Daxo,  moved  with  compassion  at  the  beauty  of  Hwit- 
serk, had  not  the  heart  to  pluck  the  budding  blossom 
of  that  noble  nature,  and  offered  him  not  only  his  life, 
but  his  daughter  in  marriage,  with  a  dowry  of  half  his 
kingdom ;  choosing  rather  to  spare  his  comeliness  than 
to  punish  his  bravery.  But  the  other,  in  the  greatness  of 
his  soul,  valued  as  nothing  the  life  which  he  was  given 
on  sufferance,  and  spurned  his  safety  as  though  it  were 

558 


BOOK  NINE 

some  trivial  benefit.  Of  his  own  will  he  embraced  the 
sentence  of  doom,  saying,  that  Ragnar  would  exact  a 
milder  vengeance  for  his  son  if  he  found  that  he  had 
made  his  own  choice  in  selecting  the  manner  of  his  death. 
The  enemy  wondered  at  his  rashness,  and  promised  that 
he  should  die  by  the  manner  of  death  which  he  should 
choose  for  this  punishment.  This  leave  the  young  man 
accepted  as  a  great  kindness,  and  begged  that  he  might  be 
bound  and  burned  with  his  friends.  Daxo  speedily  com- 
plied w'ith  his  prayers  that  craved  for  death,  and  by  way 
of  kindness  granted  him  the  end  that  he  had  chosen. 
When  Ragnar  heard  of  this,  he  began  to  grieve  stub- 
bornly even  unto  death,  and  not  only  put  on  the  garb 
of  mourning,  but,  in  the  exceeding  sorrow  of  his  soul, 
took  to  his  bed  and  showed  his  grief  by  groaning.  But 
his  wife,  who  had  more  than  a  man's  courage,  chid  his 
weakness,  and  put  heart  into  him  with  her  manful  ad- 
monitions. Drawing  his  mind  off  from  his  woe,  she 
bade  him  be  zealous  in  the  pursuit  of  war;  declaring 
that  it  was  better  for  so  brave  a  father  to  avenge  the 
bloodstained  ashes  of  his  son  with  weapons  than  with 
tears.  She  also  told  him  not  to  whimper  like  a  woman, 
and  get  as  much  disgrace  by  his  tears  as  he  had  once 
earned  glory  by  his  valour.  Upon  these  words  Ragnar 
began  to  fear  lest  he  should  destroy  his  ancient  name  for 
courage  by  his  womanish  sorrow ;  so,  shaking  off  his 
melancholy  garb  and  putting  away  his  signs  of  mourning, 
he  revived  his  sleeping  valour  with  hoi:>es  of  speedy 
vengeance.  Thus  do  the  weak  sometimes  nerv'e  the  spirits 
of  the  strong.    So  he  put  his  kingdom  in  charge  of  I  war, 

559 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

and  embraced  with  a  fathers  love  Ubbe,  who  was  now 
restored  to  his  ancient  favour.  Then  he  transported  his 
fleet  over  to  Russia,  took  Daxo,  bound  him  in  chains,  and 
sent  him  away  to  be  kept  in  Utgard.* 

Ragnar  showed  on  this  occasion  the  most  merciful 
moderation  towards  the  slayer  of  his  dearest  son,  since  he 
sufficiently  satisfied  the  vengeance  which  he  desired,  by 
the  exile  of  the  culprit  rather  than  his  death.  This  com- 
passion shamed  the  Russians  out  of  any  further  rage 
against  such  a  king,  who  could  not  be  driven  even  by 
the  most  grievous  wrongs  to  inflict  death  upon  his  pris- 
oners. Ragnar  soon  took  Daxo  back  into  favour,  and 
restored  him  to  his  country,  upon  his  promising  that  he 
w^ould  every  year  pay  him  his  tribute  barefoot,  like  a 
suppliant,  with  twelve  elders,  also  unshod.  For  he 
thought  it  better  to  punish  a  prisoner  and  a  suppliant 
gently,  than  to  draw  the  axe  of  bloodshed ;  better  to  punish 
th'at  proud  neck  with  constant  slavery  than  to  sever  it 
once  and  for  all.  Then  he  went  on  and  appointed  his 
son  Erik,  surnamed  Wind-hat,  over  Sweden.  Here, 
while  Fridleif  and  Siward  were  serving  under  him,  he 
found  that  the  Norwegians  and  the  Scots  had  wrongfully 
conferred  the  title  of  king  on  two  other  men.  So  he 
first  overthrew  the  usurper  to  the  power  of  Norway,  and 
let  Biorn  have  the  country  for  his  own  benefit. 

Then  he  summoned  Biorn  and  Erik,  ravaged  the  Ork- 
neys, landed  at  last  on  the  territory  of  the  Scots,  and  in 
a  three-days'  battle  wearied  out  their  king  Murial,  and 
slew  him.     But   Ragnar's   sons,   Dunwat  and   Radbard, 

*Utgard]    Saxo,  rationalising  as  usual,  turns  the  mythical  home  of  the 
giants  into  some  terrestrial  place  in  his  vaguely-defined  Eastern  Europe. 

560 


BOOK  NINE 

after  fighting  nobly,  were  slain  by  the  enemy.  So  that 
the  victory  their  father  won  was  stained  with  their  blood. 
He  returned  to  Denmark,  and  found  that  his  wife  Swan- 
loga  had  in  the  meantime  died  of  disease.  Straightway 
he  sought  medicine  for  his  grief  in  loneliness,  and 
patiently  confined  the  grief  of  his  sick  soul  within  the 
walls  of  his  house.  But  this  bitter  sorrow  was  driven 
out  of  him  by  the  sudden  arrival  of  Iwar,  who  had  been 
expelled  from  the  kingdom.  For  the  Gauls  had  made 
him  Hy,  and  had  wrongfully  bestowed  royal  power  on 
a  certain  Ella,  the  son  of  Hame.  Ragnar  took  Iwar  to 
guide  him,  since  he  was  acquainted  with  the  country, 
gave  orders  for  a  fleet,  and  approached  the  harbour 
called  York.  Here  he  disembarked  his  forces,  and  after 
a  battle  w'hich  lasted  three  days,  he  made  Ella,  who  had 
trusted  in  the  valour  of  the  Gauls,  desirous  to  fly.  The 
affair  cost  much  blood  to  the  English  and  very  little  to 
the  Danes.  Here  Ragnar  completed  a  year  of  conquest, 
and  then,  summoning  his  sons  to  help  him,  he  went  to 
Ireland,  slew  its  king  Melbrik,  besieged  Dublin,  which 
w^as  filled  with  wealth  of  the  barbarians,  attacked  it,  and 
received  its  surrender.  There  he  lay  in  camp  for  a  year ; 
and  then,  sailing  through  the  midland  sea,  he  made  his 
way  to  the  Hellespont.  He  won  signal  victories  as  he 
crossed  all  the  intervening  countries,  and  no  ill-fortune 
anywhere  checked  his  steady  and  prosperous  advance. 

Harald,  meanwhile,  with  the  adherence  of  certain 
Danes  who  were  cold-hearted  servants  in  the  army  of 
Ragnar,  disturbed  his  country  with  renewed  sedition, 
and  came  forward  claiming  the  title  of  king.     He  was 

.S6i 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

met  by  the  arms  of  Ragnar  returning  from  the  Helles- 
pont; but  being  unsuccessful,  and  seeing  that  his 
resources  of  defence  at  home  were  exhausted,  he  went  to 
ask  help  of  Ludwig,  who  was  then  stationed  at  Mainz. 
But  Ludwig,  filled  with  the  greatest  zeal  for  promoting 
his  religion,  imposed  a  condition  on  the  Barbarian,  prom- 
ising him  help  if  he  would  agree  to  follow  the  worship 
of  Christ.  For  he  said  there  could  be  no  agreement  of 
hearts  between  those  who  embraced  discordant  creeds. 
Anyone,  therefore,  who  asked  for  help,  must  first  have 
a  fellowship  in  religion.  No  men  could  be  partners  in 
great  works  who  were  separated  by  a  different  form  of 
worship.  This  decision  procured  not  only  salvation  for 
Ludwig's  guest,  but  the  praise  of  piety  for  Ludwig  him- 
self, who,  as  soon  as  Harald  had  gone  to  the  holy  font, 
accordingly  strengthened  him  with  Saxon  auxiliaries. 
Trusting  in  these,  Harald  built  a  temple  in  the  land  of 
Sleswik  with  much  care  and  cost,  to  be  hallowed  to  God. 
Thus  he  borrowed  a  pattern  of  the  most  holy  way  from 
the  worship  of  Rome.  He  unhallowed,  pulled  down  the 
shrines  that  had  been  profaned  by  the  error  of  misbe- 
lievers, outlawed  the  sacrificers^  abolished  the  (heathen) 
priesthood,  and  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  religion  of 
Christianity  to  his  uncouth  country.  'Rejecting  the  wor- 
ship of  demons,  he  was  zealous  for  that  of  God.  Lastly, 
he  observed  with  the  most  scrupulous  care  whatever  con- 
cerned the  protection  of  religion.  But  he  began  with 
more  piety  than  success.  For  Ragnar  came  up,  outraged 
the  holy  rites  he  had  brought  in,  outlawed  the  true  faith, 
restored  the  false  one  to  its  old  position,  and  bestowed 

562 


BOOK  NINE 

on  the  ceremonies  the  same  honour  as  before.  As  for 
Harald,  he  deserted  and  cast  in  his  lot  with  sacrilege.  For 
though  he  was  a  notable  ensample  by  his  introduction  of 
religion,  yet  he  was  the  first  who  was  seen  to  neglect  it, 
and  this  illustrious  promoter  of  holiness  proved  a  most 
infamous  forsaker  of  the  same. 

Meanwhile,  Ella  betook  himself  to  the  Irish,  and  put 
to  the  sword  or  punished  all  those  who  were  closely  and 
loyally  attached  to  Ragnar.  Then  Ragnar  attacked  him 
with  his  fleet,  but,  by  the  just  visitation  of  the  Omnipo- 
tent, was  openly  punished  for  disparaging  religion.  For 
when  he  had  been  taken  and  cast  into  prison,  his  guilty 
limbs  were  given  to  serpents  to  devour,  and  adders  found 
ghastly  substance  in  the  fibres  of  his  entrails.  His  liver 
was  eaten  away,  and  a  snake,  like  a  deadly  executioner, 
beset  his  very  heart.  Then  in  a  courageous  voice  he 
recounted  all  his  deeds  in  order,  and  at  the  end  of  his 
recital  added  the  following  sentence:  "If  the  porkers 
knew  the  punishment  of  the  boar-pig,  surely  they  would 
break  into  the  sty  and  hasten  to  loose  him  from  his 
affliction."  At  this  saying,  Ella  conjectured  that  some 
of  his  sons  were  yet  alive,  and  bade  that  the  executioners 
should  stop  and  the  vipers  be  removed.  The  servants 
ran  up  to  accomplish  his  bidding ;  but  Ragnar  was  dead, 
and  forestalled  the  order  of  the  king.  Surely  we  must 
say  that  this  man  had  a  double  lot  for  his  share?  By 
one,  he  had  a  fleet  unscathed,  an  empire  well-inclined, 
and  immense  power  as  a  rover;  while  the  other  inflicted 
on  him  the  ruin  of  his  fame,  the  slaughter  of  his  soldiers, 
and  a  most  bitter  end.    The  executioner  beheld  him  beset 

563 


$AXO  GRAMMATICUS 

with  poisonous  beasts,  and  asps  gorging  on  that  heart 
which  he  had  borne  steadfast  in  the  face  of  every  peril. 
Thus  a  most  glorious  conqueror  declined  to  the  piteous 
lot  of  a  prisoner;  a  lesson  that  no  man  should  put  too 
much  trust  in  fortune. 

Iwar  heard  of  this  disaster  as  he  happened  to  be  looking 
on  at  the  games.  Nevertheless,  he  kept  an  unmoved 
countenance,  and  in  nowise  broke  down.  Not  only  did 
he  dissemble  his  grief  and  conceal  the  news  of  his  father's 
death,  but  he  did  not  even  allow  a  clamour  to  arise,  and 
forbade  the  panic-stricken  people  to  leave  the  scene  of  the 
sports.  Thus,  loth  to  interrupt  the  spectacle  by  the 
ceasing  of  the  games,  he  neither  clouded  his  countenance 
nor  turned  his  eyes  from  public  merriment  to  dwell  upon 
his  private  sorrow ;  for  he  would  not  fall  suddenly  into 
the  deepest  melancholy  from  the  height  of  festal  joy,  or 
seem  to  behave  more  like  an  afflicted  son  than  a  blithe 
captain. 

But  when  Siward  heard  the  same  tidings,  he  loved 
his  father  more  than  he  cared  for  his  own  pain, 
and  in  his  distraction  plunged  deeply  into  his  foot  the 
spear  he  chanced  to  be  holding,  dead  to  all  bodily  troubles 
in  his  stony  sadness.  For  he  wished  to  hurt  some  part 
of  his  body  severely,  that  he  might  the  more  patiently 
bear  the  wound  in  his  soul.  By  this  act  he  showed  at 
once  his  bravery  and  his  grief,  and  bore  his  lot  like  a  son 
who  was  more  afflicted  and  steadfast.  But  Biorn  received 
the  tidings  of  his  father's  death  while  he  was  playing  at 
dice,  and  squeezed  so  violently  the  piece  that  he  was 
grasping  that  he  wrung  the  blood  from  his  finders  and 

564 


BOOK  NINE 

shed  it  on  the  table ;  whereon  he  said  that  assuredly  the 
cast  of  fate  was  more  fickle  than  that  of  the  very  die 
which  he  was  throwing.  When  Ella  heard  this,  he 
judged  that  his  father's  death  had  been  borne  with  the 
toughest  and  most  stubborn  spirit  by  that  son  of  the 
three  who  had  paid  no  filial  respect  to  his  decease;  and 
therefore  he  dreaded  the  bravery  of  Iwar  most. 

Iwar  went  towards  England,  and  when  he  saw  that  his 
fleet  was  not  strong  enough  to  join  battle  with  the  enemy, 
he  chose  to  be  cunning  rather  than  bold,  and  tried  a 
shrewd  trick  on  Ella,  begging  as  a  pledge  of  peace 
between  them  a  strip  of  land  as  great  as  he  could  cover 
w^ith  a  horse's  hide.  He  gained  his  request,  for  the  king 
supposed  that  it  would  cost  little,  and  thought  himself 
happy  that  so  strong  a  foe  begged  for  a  little  boon 
instead  of  a  great  one;  supposing  that  a  tiny  skin  would 
cover  but  a  very  little  land.  But  Iwar  cut  the  hide  out 
and  lengthened  it  into  very  slender  thongs,  thus  enclos- 
ing a  piece  of  ground  large  enough  to  build  a  city  on. 
Then  Ella  came  to  repent  of  his  lavishness,  and  tardily 
set  to  reckoning  the  size  of  the  hide,  measuring  the  little 
skin  more  narrowly  now  that  it  was  cut  up  than  when  it 
was  whole.  For  that  which  he  had  thought  would  en- 
compass a  little  strip  of  ground,  he  saw  lying  wide  over 
a  great  estate.  Iwar  brought  into  the  city,  when  he 
founded  it,  supplies  that  would  serve  amply  for  a  siege, 
wishing  the  defences  to  be  as  good  against  scarcity  as 
against  an  enemy. 

Meantime.  Siward  and  Biorn  came  up  with  a  fleet  of 
400  ships,  and  with  open  challenge  declared  war  against 

18  565 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

the  king.  This  they  did  at  the  appointed  time ;  and  when 
they  had  captured  him,  they  ordered  the  figure  of  an 
eagle  to  be  cut  in  his  back,  rejoicing  to  crush  their  most 
ruthless  foe  by  marking  him  with  the  cruellest  of  birds. 
Not  satisfied  with  imprinting  a  wound  on  him,  they 
salted  the  mangled  flesh.  Thus  Ella  was  done  to  death, 
and  Biorn  and  Siward  went  back  to  their  own  kingdoms. 
Iwar  governed  England  for  two  years.  Meanwhile  the 
Danes  were  stubborn  in  revolt,  and  made  war,  and  deliv- 
ered the  sovereignty  publicly  to  a  certain  Siward  and 
to  Erik,  both  of  the  royal  line.  The  sons  of  Rag- 
nar,  together  with  a  fleet  of  1,700  ships,  attacked  them 
at  Sleswik,  and  destroyed  them  in  a  conflict  which  lasted 
six  months.  Barrows  remain  to  tell  the  tale.  The  sound 
on  which  the  war  was  conducted  has  gained  equal  glory 
by  the  death  of  Siward.  And  now  the  royal  stock  was 
almost  extinguished,  saving  only  the  sons  of  Ragnar. 
Then,  when  Biorn  and  Erik  had  gone  home,  Iwar  and 
Siward  settled  in  Denmark,  that  they  might  curb  the 
rebels  with  a  stronger  rein,  setting  Agnar  to  govern 
England.  Agnar  was  stung  because  the  English  rejected 
him,  and,  with  the  help  of  Siward,  chose,  rather  than 
foster  the  insolence  of  the  province  that  despised  him,  to 
dispeople  it  and  leave  its  fields,  which  were  matted  in 
decay,  with  none  to  till  thein.  He  covered  the  richest 
land  of  the  island  with  the  most  hideous  desolation, 
thinking  it  better  to  be  lord  of  a  wilderness  than  of  a 
headstrong  country.  After  this  he  wished  to  avenge 
Erik,  who  had  been  slain  in  Sweden  by  the  malice  of  a 
certain   Osten.     But   while   he   was   narrowly   bent   on 

566 


BOOK  NINE 

avenging  another,  he  squandered  his  own  blood  on  the 
foe;  and  while  he  was  eagerly  trying  to  punish  the 
slaughter  of  his  brother,  sacrificed  his  own  life  to  broth- 
erly love. 

Thus  SiwARD,  by  the  sovereign  vote  of  the  whole 
Danish  assembly,  received  the  empire  of  his  father.  But 
after  the  defeats  he  had  inflicted  everywhere  he  was 
satisfied  with  the  honour  he  received  at  home,  and  liked 
better  to  be  famous  with  the  gown  than  with  the  sword. 
He  ceased  to  be  a  man  of  camps,  and  changed  from  the 
fiercest  of  despots  into  the  most  punctual  guardian  of 
peace.  He  found  as  much  honour  in  ease  and  leisure  as 
he  had  used  to  think  lay  in  many  victories.  Fortune  so 
favoured  his  change  of  pursuits,  that  no  foe  ever  attacked 
him,  nor  he  any  foe.  He  died,  and  Erik,  who  was  a  very 
young  child,  inherited  his  nature,  rather  than  his  realm 
or  his  tranquillity.  For  Erik,  the  brother  of  Harald, 
despising  his  exceedingly  tender  years,  invaded  the 
country  with  rebels,  and  seized  the  crown;  nor  was  he 
ashamed  to  assail  the  lawful  infant  sovereign,  and  to 
assume  an  unrightful  power.  In  thus  bringing  himself 
to  despoil  a  feeble  child  of  the  kingdom  he  showed  him- 
self the  more  unworthy  of  it.  Thus  he  stripped  the 
other  of  his  throne,  but  himself  of  all  his  virtues,  and 
cast  all  manliness  out  of  his  heart,  when  he  made  war 
upon  a  cradle:  for  where  covetousness  and  ambition 
flamed,  love  of  kindred  could  find  no  place.  But  this 
brutality  was  requited  by  the  wrath  of  a  divine  vengeance. 
For  the  war  between  this  man  and  Gudorm,  the  son  of 
Harald,  ended  suddenly  Anth   such  slaughter  that  they 

567 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

were  both  slain,  with  numberless  others;  and  the  royal 
stock  of  the  Danes,  now  worn  out  by  the  most  terrible 
massacres,  was  reduced  to  the  only  son  of  the  above 
Siward. 

This  man  (Erik)  won  the  fortune  of  a  throne  by  losing 
his  kindred ;  it  was  luckier  for  him  to  have  his  relations 
dead  than  alive.  He  forsook  the  example  of  all  the  rest, 
and  hastened  to  tread  in  the  steps  of  his  grandfather ; 
for  he  suddenly  came  out  as  a  most  zealous  practitioner 
of  roving.  And  would  that  he  had  not  shown  himself 
rashly  to  inherit  the  spirit  of  Ragnar,  by  his  abolition 
of  Christian  worship!  For  he  continually  tortured  all 
the  most  religious  men,  or  stripped  them  of  their  property 
and  banished  them.  But  it  were  idle  for  me  to  blame 
the  man's  beginnings  when  I  am  to  praise  his  end.  For 
that  life  is  more  laudable  of  which  the  foul  beginning 
is  checked  by  a  glorious  close,  than  that  which  begins 
commendably  but  declines  into  faults  and  infamies.  For 
Erik,  upon  the  healthy  admonitions  of  Ansgarius,  laid 
aside  the  errors  of  his  impious  heart,  and  atoned  for 
whatsoever  he  had  done  amiss  in  the  insolence  thereof; 
showing  himself  as  strong  in  the  observance  of  religion, 
as  he  had  been  in  slighting  it.  Thus  he  not  only  took 
a  draught  of  more  wholesome  teaching  with  obedient 
mind,  but  wiped  off  early  stains  by  his  purity  at  the  end. 
lie  had  a  son  Kanute  by  the  daughter  of  Gudorm,  who 
was  also  the  granddaughter  of  Harald ;  and  him  he  left  to 
survive  his  death. 

While  this  child  remained  in  infancy  a  guardian  was 
required  for  the  pupil  and  for  the  realm.     But  inasmuch 

568 


BOOK  NINE 

it  seemed  to  most  people  either  invidious  or  difficult  to 
give  the  aid  that  this  office  needed,  it  was  resolved  that 
a  man  should  be  chosen  by  lot.  For  the  wisest  of  the 
Danes,  fearing  much  to  make  a  choice  by  their  own  will 
in  so  lofty  a  matter,  allowed  more  voice  to  external 
chance  than  to  their  own  opinions,  and  entrusted  the  issue 
of  the  selection  rather  to  luck  than  to  sound  counsel.  The 
issue  was  that  a  certain  Enni-gnup  (Steep-brow),  a  man 
of  the  highest  and  most  entire  virtue,  was  forced  to  put 
his  shoulder  to  this  heavy  burden ;  and  when  he  entered 
on  the  administration  which  chance  had  decreed,  he  over- 
saw, not  only  the  early  rearing  of  the  king,  but  the  affairs 
of  the  whole  people.  For  which  reason  some  who  are 
little  versed  in  our  history  give  this  man  a  central  place  in 
its  annals.  But  when  Kanute  had  passed  through  the 
period  of  boyhood,  and  had  in  time  grown  to  be  a  man, 
he  left  those  who  had  done  him  the  service  of  bringing 
him  up,  and  turned  from  an  almost  hopeless  youth  to  the 
practice  of  unhoped-for  virtue;  being  deplorable  for  this 
reason  only,  that  he  passed  from  life  to  death  without  the 
tokens  of  the  Christian  faith. 

But  soon  the  sovereignty  passed  to  his  son  Frode. 
This  man's  fortune,  increased  by  arms  and  warfare,  rose 
to  such  a  height  of  prosperity  that  he  brought  back  to  the 
ancient  yoke  the  provinces  which  had  once  revolted  from 
the  Danes,  and  bound  them  in  their  old  obedience.  He 
also  came  forward  to  be  baptised  with  holy  water  in  Eng- 
land, which  had  for  some  while  past  been  versed  in  Chris- 
tianity. But  he  desired  that  his  personal  salvation  should 
overflow  and  become  general,  and  begged  that  Denmark 

569 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

should  be  instructed  in  divinity  by  Agapete,  who  was  then 
Pope  of  Rome.  But  he  was  cut  off  before  his  prayers 
attained  this  wish.  His  death  befell  before  the  arrival  of 
the  messengers  from  Rome :  and  indeed  his  intention  was 
better  than  his  fortune,  and  he  won  as  great  a  reward  in 
heaven  for  his  intended  piety  as  others  are  vouchsafed 
for  their  achievement. 

His  son  GoRM_,  who  had  the  surname  of  "The  English- 
man," because  he  was  born  in  England,  gained  the  sover- 
eignty in  the  island  on  his  father's  death ;  but  his  fortune, 
though  it  came  soon,  did  not  last  long.  He  left  England 
for  Denmark  to  put  it  in  order;  but  a  long  misfortune  was 
the  fruit  of  this  short  absence.  For  the  English,  who 
thought  that  their  whole  chance  of  freedom  lay  in  his 
being  away,  planned  an  open  revolt  from  the  Danes,  and 
in  hot  haste  took  heart  to  rebel.  But  the  greater  the 
hatred  and  contempt  of  England,  the  greater  the  loyal 
attachment  of  Denmark  to  the  king.  Thus  while  he 
stretched  out  his  two  hands  to  both  provinces  in  his  desire 
for  sway,  he  gained  one,  but  lost  the  lordship  of  the  other 
irretrievably ;  for  he  never  made  any  bold  effort  to  regain 
it.     So  hard  is  it  to  keep  a  hold  on  very  large  empires. 

After  this  man  his  son  Harald  came  to  be  king  of 
Denmark;  he  is  half-forgotten  by  posterity,  and  lacks  all 
record  for  famous  deeds,  because  he  rather  preserved  than 
extended  the  possessions  of  the  realm. 

After  this  the  throne  was  obtained  by  Gorm,  a  man 
whose  soul  was  ever  hostile  to  religion,  and  who  tried  to 
efface  all  regard  for  Christ's  worshippers,  as  though  they 
were  the  most  abominable  of  men.     All  those  who  shared 

570 


BOOK  NINE 

this  rule  of  life  he  harassed  with  divers  kinds  of  injuries 
and  incessantly  pursued  with  whatever  slanders  he  could. 
Also,  in  order  to  restore  the  old  worship  to  the  shrines, 
he  razed  to  its  lowest  foundations,  as  though  it  were  some 
unholy  abode  of  impiety,  a  temple  which  religious  men  had 
founded  in  a  stead  in  Sleswik;  and  those  whom  he  did  not 
visit  with  tortures  he  punished  by  the  demolition  of  the 
holy  chapel.  Though  this  man  was  thought  notable  for 
his  stature,  his  mind  did  not  answer  to  his  body ;  for  he 
kept  himself  so  well  sated  with  power  that  he  rejoiced 
more  in  saving  than  increasing  his  dignity,  and  thought  it 
better  to  guard  his  own  than  to  attack  what  belonged  to 
others :  caring  more  to  look  to  what  he  had  than  to  swell 
his  havings. 

This  man  was  counselled  by  the  elders  to  celebrate  the 
rites  of  marriage,  and  he  wooed  Thyra,  the  daughter  of 
Ethelred,  the  king  of  the  English,  for  his  wife.  She 
surpassed  other  women  in  seriousness  and  shrewdness, 
and  laid  the  condition  on  her  suitor  that  she  would  not 
marry  him  till  she  had  received  Denmark  as  a  dowry. 
This  compact  was  made  between  them,  and  she  was 
betrothed  to  Gorm.  But  on  the  first  night  that  she  went 
up  on  to  the  marriage-bed,  she  prayed  her  husband  most 
earnestly  that  she  should  be  allowed  to  go  for  three  days 
free  from  intercourse  with  man.  For  she  resolved  to 
have  no  pleasure  of  love  till  she  had  learned  by  some  omen 
in  a  vision  that  her  marriage  would  be  fruitful.  Thus, 
under  pretence  of  self-control,  she  deferred  her  experience 
of  marriage,  and  veiled  under  a  show  of  modesty  her  wish 
to  learn  about  her  issue.     She  put  off  lustful  intercourse, 

571 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

inquiring,  under  the  feint  of  chastity,  into  the  fortune  she 
would  have  in  continuing  her  hne.  Some  conjecture 
that  she  refused  the  pleasures  of  the  nuptial  couch  in  order 
to  win  her  mate  over  to  Christianity  by  her  abstinence. 
But  the  youth,  though  he  was  most  ardently  bent  on  her 
love,  yet  chose  to  regard  the  continence  of  another  more 
than  his  own  desires,  and  thought  it  nobler  to  control  the 
impulses  of  the  night  than  to  rebuff  the  prayers  of  his 
weeping  mistress;  for  he  thought  that  her  beseechings, 
really  coming  from  calculation,  had  to  do  with  modesty. 
Thus  it  befell  that  he  who  should  have  done  a  husband's 
part  made  himself  the  guardian  of  her  chastity  so  that  the 
reproach  of  an  infamous  mind  should  not  be  his  at  the 
very  beginning  of  his  marriage ;  as  though  he  had  yielded 
more  to  the  might  of  passion  than  to  his  own  self-respect. 
Moreover  that  he  might  not  seem  to  forestall  by  his 
lustful  embraces  the  love  which  the  maiden  would  not 
grant,  he  not  only  forbore  to  let  their  sides  that  were 
next  one  another  touch,  but  even  severed  them  by  his 
drawn  sword,  and  turned  the  bed  into  a  divided  shelter 
for  his  bride  and  himself.  But  he  soon  tasted  in  the  joy- 
ous form  of  a  dream  the  pleasure  which  he  postponed  from 
free  loving  kindness.  For,  when  his  spirit  was  steeped  in 
slumber,  he  thought  that  two  birds  glided  down  fronl 
the  privy  parts  of  his  wife,  one  larger  than  the  other ;  that 
they  poised  their  bodies  aloft  and  soared  swiftly  to 
heaven,  and,  when  a  little  time  had  elapsed,  came  back 
and  sat  on  either  of  his  hands.  A  second,  and  again  a 
third  time,  when  they  had  been  refreshed  by  a  short  rest, 
they  ventured  forth  to  the  air  with  outspread  wings.     At 

572 


BOOK  NINE 

last  the  lesser  of  them  came  back  without  his  fellow,  and 
with  wings  smeared  with  blood.  He  was  amazed  with 
this  imagination,  and,  being  in  a  deep  sleep,  uttered  a 
cry  to  betoken  his  astonishment,  filling  the  whole  house 
with  an  uproarious  shout.  When  his  servants  questioned 
him,  he  related  his  vision;  and  Thyra,  thinking  that  she 
would  be  blest  with  offspring,  forbore  her  purpose  to  put 
off  her  marriage,  eagerly  relaxing  the  chastity  for  which 
she  had  so  hotly  prayed.  Exchanging  celibacy  for  love, 
she  granted  her  husband  full  joy  of  herself,  requiting  his 
virtuous  self-restraint  with  the  fulness  of  permitted  inter- 
course, and  telling  him  that  she  would  not  have  married 
him  at  all,  had  she  not  inferred  from  these  images  in  the 
dream  which  he  had  related,  the  certainty  of  her  being 
fruitful. 

By  a  device  as  cunning  as  it  was  strange,  Thyra's 
pretended  modesty  passed  into  an  acknowledgment  of 
her  future  offspring.  Nor  did  fate  disappoint  her  hopes. 
Soon  she  was  the  fortunate  mother  of  Kanute  and  Harald. 
When  these  princes  had  attained  man's  estate,  they  put 
forth  a  fleet  and  quelled  the  reckless  insolence  of  the 
Sclavs.  Neither  did  they  leave  England  free  from  an 
attack  of  the  same  kind.  Ethelred  was  delighted 
with  their  spirit,  and  rejoiced  at  the  violence  his 
nephews  offered  him;  accepting  an  abominable  wrong 
as  though  it  were  the  richest  of  benefits.  For  he  saw 
far  more  merit  in  their  bravery  than  in  piety.  Thus 
he  thought  it  nobler  to  be  attacked  by  foes  than 
courted  by  cowards,  and  felt  that  he  saw  in  their 
valiant    promise    a    sample    of    their    future    manhood. 

573 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

For  he  could  not  doubt  that  they  would  some  day  attack 
foreign  reahns,  since  they  so  boldly  claimed  those  of  their 
mother.  He  so  much  preferred  their  wrongdoing  to 
their  service,  that  he  passed  over  his  daughter,  and 
bequeathed  England  in  his  will  to  these  two,  not  scrupling 
to  set  the  name  of  grandfather  before  that  of  father.  Nor 
was  he  unwise;  for  he  knew  that  it  beseemed  men  to 
enjoy  the  sovereignty  rather  than  women,  and  considered 
that  he  ought  to  separate  the  lot  of  his  unwarlike  daughter 
from  that  of  her  valiant  sons.  Hence  Thyra  saw  her 
sons  inheriting  the  goods  of  her  father,  not  grudging  to 
be  disinherited  herself.  For  she  thought  that  the  prefer- 
ence above  herself  was  honourable  to  her,  rather  than 
insulting. 

Kanute  and  Harald  enriched  themselves  with  great 
gains  from  sea-roving,  and  most  confidently  aspired 
to  lay  hands  on  Ireland.  Dublin,  which  was  considered 
the  capital  of  the  country,  was  beseiged.  Its  king  went 
into  a  wood  adjoining  the  city  with  a  few  very  skilled 
archers,  and  with  treacherous  art  surrounded  Kanute 
(who  was  present  with  a  great  throng  of  soldiers  witness- 
ing the  show  of  the  games  by  night),  and  aimed  a  deadly 
arrow  at  him  from  afar.  It  struck  the  body  of  the  king 
in  front,  and  pierced  him  with  a  mortal  wound.  But 
Kanute  feared  that  the  enemy  would  greet  his  peril  with 
an  outburst  of  delight.  He  therefore  wished  his  disaster 
to  be  kept  dark;  and  summoning  voice  v/ith  his  last 
breath,  he  ordered  the  games  to  be  gone  through  without 
disturbance.  By  this  device  he  made  the  Danes  masters 
of  Ireland  ere  he  made  his  own  death  known  to  the  Irish. 

574 


BOOK  NINE 

Who  would  not  bewail  the  end  of  such  a  man,  whose 
self-mastery  served  to  give  the  victory  to  his  soldiers,  by 
reason  of  the  wisdom  that  outlasted  his  life?  For  the 
safety  of  the  Danes  was  most  seriously  endangered,  and 
was  nearly  involved  in  the  most  deadly  peril ;  yet  because 
they  obeyed  the  dying  orders  of  their  general  they  pre- 
sently triumphed  over  those  they  feared. 

Gorm  had  now  reached  the  extremity  of  his  days,  hav- 
ing been  blind  for  many  years,  and  had  prolonged  his 
old  age  to  the  utmost  iDOunds  of  the  human  lot,  being  more 
anxious  for  the  life  and  prosperity  of  his  sons  than  for  the 
few  days  he  had  to  breathe.  But  so  great  was  his  love 
for  his  elder  son  that  he  swore  that  he  would  slay  with  his 
own  hand  whosoever  first  brought  him  news  of  his  death. 
As  it  chanced,  Thyra  heard  sure  tidings  that  this  son  had 
perished.  But  when  no  man  durst  openly  hint  this  to 
Gorm,  she  fell  back  on  her  cunning  to  defend  her,  and 
revealed  by  her  deeds  the  mischance  which  she  durst  not 
speak  plainly  out.  For  she  took  the  royal  robes  ofif  her 
husband  and  dressed  him  in  filthy  garments,  bringing  him 
other  signs  of  grief  also,  to  explain  the  cause  of  her 
mourning;  for  the  ancients  were  wont  to  use  such  things 
in  the  performance  of  obsequies,  bearing  witness  by  their 
garb  to  the  bitterness  of  their  sorrow.  Then  said  Gorm  : 
"Dost  thou  declare  to  me  the  death  of  Kanute?"*  And 
Thyra  said :  *'That  is  proclaimed  by  thy  presage,  not  by 
mine,"  By  this  answer  she  made  out  her  lord  a  dead  man 
and  herself  a  widow,  and  had  to  lament  her  husband  as 
soon  as  her  son.     Thus,  while  she  announced  the  fate  of 

*Kanute]  Hpfp  the  vornaculnr  is  fnr  finer.  The  old  king  notices 
"Denmark  is  drooping,  dead  must  my  son  be  !"  puts  on  the  signs  of  mourn- 
ing, and  dies. 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

her  son  to  her  husband,  she  united  them  in  death,  and 
followed  the  obsequies  of  both  with  equal  mourning; 
shedding  the  tears  of  a  wife  upon  the  one  and  of  a  mother 
upon  the  other;  though  at  that  moment  she  ought  to 
have  been  cheered  with  comfort  rather  than  crushed  with 
disasters. 


576 


APPENDIX  I 


PASSAGES  FROM  LATER  BOOKS 
OF  SAXO. 


Story  of   Toke  and  the  Apple   (Bk.   x.   p.   329,   ed. 
Holder). 

One  Toke,  who  had  served  some  while  with  the  king 
(Harald  Blnethroth),  had  made  many  men  foes  to  his 
virtues  by  the  services  wherein  he  overpassed  the  zeal 
of  his  comrades.  Talking  in  his  cups  among  the  feasters, 
he  chanced  to  boast  that  if  an  apple,  however  small,  were 
set  at  a  distance  upon  a  stick,  he  would  hit  it  with  the  first 
shaft  he  aimed.  This  speech,  catching  the  ears  of  his 
detractors,  reached  the  hearing  of  the  king.  But  the 
unscrupulous  monarch  presently  turned  the  father's  con- 
fidence to  the  peril  of  the  son,  and  commanded  that  this 
most  sweet  pledge  of  Toke's  life  should  be  put  in  the  place 
of  the  stick  with  the  apple  on  his  head,  and  should  suffer 
with  his  own  head  for  that  windy  boast,  unless  he  who 
made  the  promise  should  with  the  first  arrow  that  he  tried 
strike  the  apple  off  it.  Thus  the  treacherous  slanders  of 
others  took  up  his  half-tipsy  vaunt,  and  the  soldier  was 

577 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

forced  by  his  king's  behest  to  do  better  than  his  promises, 
so  that  his  words  bound  him  to  more  than  their  own  conse- 
quence ...  So  Toke  brought  the  lad  forth,  and  warned 
him  straitly  to  await  the  singing  of  the  arrow  with 
steadfast  ear  and  unswerving  head,  so  as  not  to  balk  by 
any  slight  motion  the  successful  trial  of  his  skill.  Also 
he  considered  a  plan  to  remove  the  lad's  fear,  and  made 
him  turn  away  his  face,  that  he  should  not  be  scared  by 
the  sight  of  the  missile.  Then  he  put  out  three  arrows 
from  the  quiver;  the  first  that  he  fitted  to  the  string 
struck  the  mark  proposed.  [Eulogy  on  father  and  son.] 
....  But  when  the  king  asked  Toke  why  he  had  taken 
three  shafts  from  the  quiver,  when  he  was  to  try  his  for- 
tunes but  once  with  the  bow,  Toke  answered,  "That  I 
might  avenge  on  thyself  the  miss  of  the  first  with  the 
point  of  the  others,  lest  perchance  my  innocence  might 
suffer  and  thy  violence  escape." 

II. 

Allusion  to  Ni flung  story  (Bk.  xiii,  p.  427). 

[Magnus,  plotting  to  slay  Kanute,  sends  a  Saxon  min- 
strel who  is  in  the  conspiracy,  to  lure  him  out  to  a  wood  at 
night.] 

Then  the  minstrel,  knowing  that  Kanute  was  a  great 
lover  both  of  the  Saxon  name  and  customs,  wished  to 
arm  him  with  caution,  but  thought  that  the  sanctity  of 
his  oath  (of  conspiracy)  was  in  the  way  of  his  acting 
thus.  Therefore,  thinking  it  a  sin  to  betray  the  matter 
plainly,  he  tried  to  do  so  covertly.  ...     So  he  purposely 

578 


APPENDIX  I 

started  to  relate  in  a  noble  song  the  treachery  of  Grimhikl 
towards  her  brethren,  trying  by  this  example  of  notorious 
guile  to  inspire  him  with  fear  of  a  like  fate.  [Kanute 
ignores  the  hint  and  perishes.] 

III. 

The  Statne  of  Siiaitto-Vitns  (Bk.  xiv,  p.  564  sqq.) 

[Waldemar  I  and  Absalon  lay  siege  to  Arkon  in  Riigen, 
a  city  on  a  ness  with  precipice  walls.] 

On  a  level  in  the  midst  of  the  city  was  to  be  seen  a 
wooden  temple  of  most  graceful  workmanship,  held  in 
honour  not  only  for  the  splendour  of  its  ornament,  but 
for  the  divinity  of  an  image  set  up  within  it.  The  outside 
of  the  building  was  bright  with  careful  graving  [or 
painting],  whereon  sundry  shapes  were  rudely  and 
uncouthly  pictured.  There  was  but  one  gate  for  entrance. 
The  shrine  itself  was  shut  in  a  double  row  of  enclosures, 
the  outer  whereof  was  made  of  walls  and  covered  w'ith  a 
red  summit;  while  the  inner  one  rested  on  four  pillars, 
and  instead  of  having  walls  was  gorgeous  with  hangings, 
not  communicating  with  the  outer  save  for  the  roof  and 
a  few  beams.  In  the  temple  stood  a  huge  image,  far 
overtopping  all  human  stature,  marvellous  for  its  four 
heads  and  four  necks,  two  facing  the  breast  and  two  the 
back.  Moreover,  of  those  in  front  as  well  as  of  those 
behind,  one  looked  leftwards  and  the  other  rightwards. 
The  beards  were  figured  as  shaven  and  the  hair  as  clipped  ; 
the  skilled  workman  might  be  thought  to  have  copied  the 
fashion  of  the  Riigeners  in  the  dressing  of  the  heads.     In 

579 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

the  right  hand  it  held  a  horn  wrought  of  divers  metals, 
which  the  priest,  who  was  versed  in  its  rites,  used  to  fill 
every  year  with  new  wine,  in  order  to  foresee  the  crops 
of  the  next  season  from  the  disposition  of  the  liquor.  In 
the  left  there  was  a  representation  of  a  bow,  the  arm  being 
drawn  back  to  the  side.  A  tunic  was  figured  reaching  to 
the  shanks,  which  were  made  of  different  woods,  and  so 
secretly  joined  to  the  knees  that  the  place  of  the  join  could 
only  be  detected  by  narrow  scrutiny.  The  feet  were  seen 
close  to  the  earth,  their  base  being  hid  underground.  Not 
far  off  a  bridle  and  saddle  and  many  emblems  of  godhead 
were  visible.  Men's  marvel  at  these  things  was  increased 
by  a  sword  of  notable  size,  whose  scabbard  and  hilt  were 
not  only  excellently  graven,  but  also  graced  outside  with 
[mounts  or  inlaying  of]  silver.  This  image  was  regu- 
larly worshipped  in  the  following  way :  Once  every  year, 
after  harvest,  a  motley  throng  from  the  whole  isle  would 
sacrifice  beasts  for  peace-offering  before  the  temple  of 
the  image,  and  keep  ceremonial  feast.  Its  priest  was  con- 
spicuous for  his  long  beard  and  hair,  beyond  the  common 
fashion  of  the  country. 

On  the  day  before  that  on  which  he  must  sacrifice,  the 
officiating  priest  used  to  sweep  with  brooms  the  shrine, 
which  he  had  the  sole  right  of  entering.  He  took  heed  not 
to  breathe  within  the  building.  r4s  often  as  he  needed  to 
draw  or  give  breath,  he  would  run  out  to  the  door,  lest  for- 
sooth the  divine  presence  should  be  tainted  with  human 
breath.  On  the  morrow,  the  people  being  at  watch  before 
the  doors,  he  took  the  cup  from  the  image,  and  looked  at  it 
narrowly;  if  any  of  the  liquor  put  in  had  gone  away 

580 


APPENDIX  I 

he  thought  that  this  pointed  to  a  scanty  harvest  for  next 
year.  When  he  had  noted  this  he  bade  them  keep,  against 
the  future,  the  corn  which  they  had.  If  he  saw  no  lessen- 
ing in  its  usual  fulness,  he  foretold  fertile  crops.  So, 
according  to  this  omen,  he  told  them  to  use  the  harvest  of 
the  present  year  now  thriftly,  now  generously.  Then  he 
poured  out  the  old  wine  as  a  libation  at  the  feet  of  the 
image,  and  filled  the  empty  cup  with  fresh ;  and  feigning 
the  part  of  a  cupbearer,  he  adored  the  statue,  and  in  a 
regular  form  of  address  prayed  for  good  increase  of 
wealth  and  conquests  for  himself,  his  country  and  its 
people.  This  done,  he  put  the  cup  to  his  lips,  and  drank 
it  up  over-fast  at  an  unbroken  draught;  refilling  it  then 
with  wine,   he  put  it  back  in  the  hand  of  the  statue. 

Mead-cakes  were  also  placed  for  offering,  round  in 
shape  and  great,  almost  up  to  the  height  of  a  man's  stat- 
ure. The  priest  used  to  put  this  between  himself  and  the 
people, and  ask,Whether  the  men  of  Riigen  could  see  him? 
By  this  request  he  prayed  not  for  the  doom  of  his  people  or 
himself,  but  for  increase  of  the  coming  crops.  Then  he 
greeted  the  crowd  in  the  name  of  the  image,  and  bade 
them  prolong  their  worship  of  the  god  with  diligent  sacri- 
ficing, promising  them  sure  rewards  of  their  tillage,  and 
victory  by  sea  and  land  ....  [The  people  keep  orgy 
the  rest  of  the  day  to  please  the  god.]  .  .  .  Each  male 
and  female  hung  a  coin  every  year  as  a  gift  in  worship  of 
the  image.  It  was  also  allotted  a  third  of  the  spoil  and 
plunder,  as  though  these  had  been  got  and  won  by  its 
protection. 

This  god  also  had  300  horses  appointed  to  it,  and 

19  581 


SAXO  CRAMMATICUS 

as  many  men-at-arms  riding  them,  all  of  whose  gains, 
either  by  arms  or  theft,  were  put  in  the  care  of  the  priest. 
Out  of  these  spoils  he  wrought  sundry  emblems  and 
temple-ornaments  which  he  consigned  to  locked  coffers 
containing  store  of  money  and  piles  of  time-eaten  purple. 
Here,  too,  was  to  be  seen  a  mass  of  public  and  private 
gifts,  the  contributions  of  anxious  applicants  for  bless- 
ings. This  statue  was  worshipped  with  the  tributes  of  all 
Sclavonia,  and  neighbouring  kings  did  not  fail  to  honour 

its  sacrifice  with  gift [Even  Sweyn  gave  a 

wrought  cup,  and  there  were  smaller  shrines.]  .... 
Also  it  possessed  a  special  white  horse,  the  hairs  of  whose 
mane  and  tail  it  w^as  thought  impious  to  pluck,  and  which 
only  the  priest  had  the  privilege  of  feeding  and  riding, 
lest  the  use  of  the  divine  beast  might  become  common  and 
therefore  cheap.  On  this  horse,  in  the  belief  of  Riigen, 
Suanto-Vitus — so  the  image  was  called — rode  to  war 
against  the  foes  of  his  religion.  The  chief  proof  was  that 
the  horse  when  stabled  at  night  was  commonly  found  in 
the  morning  bespattered  wih  mire  and  sw^eat,  as  though 
he  had  come  from  exercise  and  travelled  leagues.  Omens 
also  were  taken  by  this  horse,  thus:  When  war  was 
determined  against  any  district,  the  servants  set  out  three 
rows  of  spears,  two  joined  crosswise,  each  row  being 
planted  point  downwards  in  the  earth ;  the  rows  an  equal 
distance  apart.  When  it  was  time  to  make  the  expedition, 
after  a  solemn  prayer,  the  horse  was  led  in  harness  out 
of  the  porch  by  the  priest.  If  he  crossed  the  rows  with 
the  right  foot  before  the  left  it  was  taken  as  a  lucky  omen 
of  warfare;  if  he  put  the  left  first,  so  much  as  once,  the 

582 


APPENDIX  I 

plan  of  attacking  that  district  was  dropped ;  neither  was 
any  voyage  finally  fixed,  until  three  paces  in  succession  of 
the  fortunate  manner  of  walking  were  observed.  Also 
folk  faring  out  on  sundry  businesses  took  an  omen  con- 
cerning their  wishes  from  their  first  meeting  with  the 
beast.  Was  the  omen  happy,  they  blithely  went  on  their 
journey;  was  it  baleful,  they  turned  and  went  home. 

Nor  were  these  people  ignorant  of  the  use  of  lots.  Three 
bits  of  wood,  black  on  one  side,  white  on  the  other,  were 
cast  into  the  lap.  Fair,  meant  good  luck;  dusky,  ill. 
Neither  were  their  women  free  from  this  sort  of  know- 
ledge, for  they  would  sit  by  the  hearth  and  draw  random 
lines  in  the  ashes  without  counting.  If  these  when 
counted  were  even  they  were  thought  to  bode  success ;  if 
odd,  ill-fortune.  [The  king  goes  to  attack  the  town  and 
efface  profane  rites.  His  men  make  works,  but  he  says 
these  are  needless]  because  the  Riigeners  had  once 
been  taken  by  Karl  Caesar,  and  bidden  to  honour  with 
tribute  Saint  Vitus  of  Corvey,  famous  for  his  sanctified 
death.  But  when  the  conqueror  died  they  wished  to 
regain  freedom,  and  exchanged  slavery  for  superstition ; 
putting  up  an  image  at  home  to  which  they  gave  the  name 
of  the  holy  Vitus,  and,  scorning  the  people  of  Corvey, 
they  proceeded  to  transfer  the  tribute  to  its  worship,  say- 
ing that  they  were  content  with  their  own  Vitus,  and  need 
not  serve  a  strange  one.  [Vitus  w^ould  come  and  avenge 
himself,  so  the  king  prophesies ;  the  siege  is  related ;  the 
people  trust  their  defences,  and  guard]  the  tower  over  the 
gate  only  with  emblems  and  standards.  Among  these 
was  Stanitia  [^margin,  Stuatira],  notable  for  size  and  hue. 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

which  received  as  much  adoration  from  the  Riigeners  as 
almost  all  the  gods  together;  for  shielded  by  her,  they 
took  leave  to  assail  the  laws  of  God  and  man,  counting 
nothing  unlawful  which  they  liked  ....  [the  town  is 
taken  and  fired]  p.  574.  (The  image  could  not  be  prized 
up  without  iron  tools.  Esborn  and  Snio  cut  it  down). 
The  image  fell  to  the  ground  with  a  crash.  Much  purple 
hung  round  the  temple;  it  was  gorgeous,  but  so  rotten 
with  decay  that  it  could  not  bear  the  touch.  There  were 
also  the  horns  of  woodland  beasts,  marvellous  in  them- 
selves and  for  their  workmanship.  A  demon  in  the  form 
of  a  dusky  animal  was  seen  to  quit  the  inner  part  and 
suddenly  vanish  from  the  sight  of  the  bystanders.  [The 
image  of  Suanto- Vitus  is  then  chopped  into  firewood.] 

IV. 

The  Image  at  Karentia  {Garz)  in  Rugen  (Bk.  xiv, 
p.  577). 

[ Absalon  goes  against  the  Karentines ;  takes  the  town, 
and  comies  upon  three  temples  of  a  similar  kind  to  that  at 
Arkon.]  The  greater  temple  was  situated  in  the  midst 
of  its  own  ante-chamber,  but  both  were  enclosed  with 
purple  (hangings)  instead  of  walls,  the  summit  of  the 
roof  being  propped  merely  on  pillars.  So  the  servants, 
tearing  down  the  gear  of  the  ante-chamber,  at  last 
stretched  out  their  hands  to  the  inmost  veil  of  the  temple. 
This  was  removed,  and  an  oaken  image  which  they  called 
Rugie-Vitus  (Rugen's  Vitus)  was  exposed  on  every  side 
amid  mockery  at  its  hideousness.     For  the  swallows  had 

584 


APPENDIX  I 

built  their  nests  beneath  its  features,  and  had  piled  a  heap 
of  droppings  on  its  breast.  The  god  was  only  fit  to  have 
his  effigy  thus  hideously  befouled  by  birds.  Also  in  its 
head  were  set  seven  faces,  after  human  likeness,  all  covered 
in  under  a  single  poll,  and  the  workman  had  also  bound  by 
its  side  in  a  single  belt  seven  real  swords  with  their  scab- 
bards. The  eighth  it  held  in  its  hand  drawn ;  this  was 
fitted  in  the  wrist  and  fixed  very  fast  with  an  iron  nail, 
and  the  hand  must  be  cut  off  before  it  could  be  wrenched 
away ;  which  led  to  the  image  being  mutilated.  Its  thick- 
ness was  beyond  that  of  a  human  body,  but  it  was  so  long 
that  Absalon,  standing  a-tip-toe,  could  scarce  reach  its 
chin  with  the  little  axe  he  was  wont  to  carry  in  his  hand. 
The  people  had  believed  this  god  to  preside  over  wars,  as 
if  it  had  the  power  of  Mars.  Nothing  in  this  image 
pleased  the  eye;  its  features  were  hideous  with  uncouth 
graving  (or  painting).  [It  is  cut  down,  and  its  own 
people  spurn  it  and  are  converted.  The  assailants  go 
on]  to  the  image  of  Pore- Vitus,  which  was  worshipped 
in  the  next  town.  This  was  also  five-headed,  but  repre- 
sented without  weapons.  On  this  being  cut  down  they 
go  to  the  temple  of  Porenutius.  This  statue,  represent- 
ing four  faces,  had  the  fifth  inserted  in  its  bosom ;  its  left 
hand  touched  the  brow,  and  its  right  the  chin.  [It  is 
destroyed.] 


585 


APPENDIX  II. 


SAXO'S    HAMLET. 


I. 

GoETHi:  is  said  to  have  been  so  struck  by  Saxo's  tale  of 
Amleth,  that  he  thought  of  himself  treating-  it  freely, 
without  reference  to  Shakspere.  For  Shakspere,  reading 
Belief orest  or  his  translator,  rejected  or  changed  so  many 
traits  that  the  story  of  Amleth  became  almost  as  different 
as  his  soul.  Leaving  aside  Belleforest,  with  his  innocent 
diffuse  platitudes,  and  the  earlier  play  from  which  Shaks- 
pere may  have  worked,  let  us  press  out  the  likenesses, 
and  the  differences,  between  the  rich  barbarous  tale  which 
Saxo  wrought  out  of  motley  sources,  and  that  tale  whose 
message  to  the  modern  world,  so  far  from  becoming 
exhausted,  increases. 

Amleth,  like  Hamlet,  is  a  prince,  whose  father  is  slain 
by  his  jealous  uncle,  and  whose  mother  Gerutha  (Ger- 
trude) incestuously  marries  the  murderer,  Feng.  Feng's 
guilt  is  open,  and  he  crowns  his  crimes  by  pretending  he 
had  slain  his  brother  for  Gerutha's  good ;  Shakspere  drops 
these  points.  Amleth  then  feigns  madness.  We  know 
how  Shakspere  so  subtilises  this  motive  that  the  degree 

587 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

of  reality  in  Hamlet's  distraction  is  disputed,  some  think- 
ing it  wholly  real,  some  wholly  feigned,  while  others, 
without  attempting  to  draw  a  rigid  line,  hold  that  Hamlet 
is  an  actor  who  flings  himself  into  a  part  which  presently 
invades    his    very    self.     But    there    is    no  doubt  about 
Amleth;    he    not   only    feigns,    but    feigns    in    order    to 
execute  a  revenge,  on  the  fanciful  cruelty  of  whose  long- 
considered  plan — a  whole  palace  and  company  of  feasters 
to  be  wrapped  in  one  net  and  flame  of  destruction — we 
are  led  to  think  that  he  sates  his  imagination  for  a  whole 
year  in  advance.     Hence  the  whole  play  of  doubts  upon 
Haml^'s  intellect,  and  of  vacillations  upon  his  will,  is 
excluded  from  the  very  idea  of  the  old  story.     Shakspere 
also  omits  the  tricks  by  which  Amleth  both  hides  and 
symbolises  his  intention,  such  as  the  "crooks"  pointed  in 
the  fire,  and  his  riddles,  which,  indeed,  are  absent  in  Belle- 
forest.     But  the  attribute  of  riddling  speech  is,  in  Hamlet, 
infinitely  developed,  and  the  temptations  set  in  the  way 
of  the   two  princes  have  marked   likenesses.     Amleth's 
foster-sister  is  a  vague  presentiment  of  Ophelia,  even  as 
the  friend  who  warns  Amleth  against  her  is  of  Horatio. 
Then  follows  the  eavesdropping  prototype  of  Polonius, 
whom  Hamlet  runs  through*  in  his  scene  with  his  mother. 
In  Shakspere  or  his  immediate  source  the  girl  is  made 
his  daughter ;  in  Saxo  they  have  no  connection.    Hamlet's 
harangue  to  his  mother  is  descended  straight  from  Amleth, 
and  the  two  may  be  compared  in  detail.     This  speech, 
as  it  stands  in  Saxo's  rhetoric,  is  evidently  his  own,  and 
thus  constitutes  the  chief  place  where  Shakspere,  of  course 

•Saxo's    "straw"    becomes    in   Belief orest   and    Shakspere   the   hangings 
behind  which  the  listener  lurks. 

588 


APPENDIX  II 

unwittingly,  bears  traces  of  his  very  words.  Then  fol- 
lows the  emlDassy  to  Britain,  and  the  motive  of  the 
doomed  man  causing  the  death  of  his  executioner  by 
altering  the  names  in  the  warrant.  But,  agreeably  to  the 
root-idea  of  Saxo's  version,  Amleth,  l^efore  departure,  has 
laid  his  plans,  and  bidden  his  converted  mother  net  the 
fatal  hangings,  which  with  the  crooks,  are  to  encompass 
his  vengeance.  Hamlet  has  no  such  plan,  nor  do  we  hear 
of  any  such  adventures  of  his  in  England  as  those  which 
are  detailed  of  Amleth,  and  which  form  the  link  with  the 
post-Shaksperean  portion  of  his  tale  in  Saxo's  Fourth 
Book.  Amleth's  return  and  the  fashion  of  his  vengeance, 
of  course  differ ;  and  the  difference  is  due  not  merely  to 
the  impossibility  of  burning  a  whole  palace  upon  an 
Elizabethan  stage,  but  to  the  radical  difference  of  the 
heroes.  Amleth  has  to  fulfil  his  plan  with  indiscriminate 
slaughter,  and  then  to  reign.  Hamlet  only  punishes  the 
criminal,  and  this  by  accident,  at  the  last  moment  before 
his  own  destruction.  The  sole  points  in  common  are  that 
both  the  uncle  and  the  rnother_are_.  killed.  After  this 
point  Amleth  enters  on  a  wholly  new  set  of  adventures 
which  Shakspere,  though  he  found  them  in  Belleforest, 
did  not  need. 

"Two  points  in  Amleth's  soul"  are  yet  to  mention. 
Saxo  makes  him  not  only  long-headed  and  full  of  equivo- 
cations, but  punctilious  of  verbal  truthfulness.  He  lies, 
that  is,  wishes  to  deceive,  but  his  words,  if  he  is  to  be 
cliallenged  afterwards,  will  bear  a  truthful  colour. 
"Though  his  words  did  not  lack  truth,  there  was  nothing 
to  betoken  the  truth."     He  is  also  preternaturally  obser- 

589 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

vant  of  small  things.  These  traits  are  transformed 
in  Hamlet,  who  is  continually  giving  double  answers, 
not  from  love  of  truth,  but  from  love  of  mockery, 
as  if  to  satisfy  his  delight  in  fooling  others ;  and  who  has 
also  sudden  formidable  outbursts  of  penetration,  as  with 
Rosencrantz  and  Guildenstern.  But  the  point  for  remark 
is,  that  nearly  all  the  differences  of  motive  between  Shaks- 
pere  and  Saxo  depend  on  their  different  conceptions  of 
the  prince's  character :  Amleth  being  quite  sane  and  quite 
resolute,  Hamlet  neither. 

We  cannot  wonder  at  Goethe  having  seen  rich  artistic 
possibilities  in  Saxo.*  Into  none  of  his  tales  does  Saxo 
put  more  of  himself;  for  colour  of  incident,  as  in  the 
burning  of  the  palace,  for  sweep  and  power  of  declama- 
tion, as  in  the  harangue  to  the  Danes,  he  has  written 
nothing  to  equal  the  story  of  Amleth,  unless  it  be  the  story 
of  Starkad.  It  must  be  granted  that  Saxo's  blemishes 
appear  also ;  he  is  unwieldy  in  his  narrative,  and  he  leaves 
difficulties  without  explaining  them.  His  tale  cannot 
always  be  understood  as  he  gives  it.  What  is  the  mean- 
ing of  Amleth's  dark  answers?  What  is  the  sense  of  the 
message  through  the  gadfly?  We  can  answer  some  of 
these  questions,  but  Saxo  does  not.  He  acquiesces  in  and 
reports  these  seeming  puerilities  without  trying  to  smooth 
them  down,  or  seeing  that  the  reader  will  be  thrown  out. 
Yet  this  defect  of  the  artist  is  a  merit  of  the  reporter. 
It  avouches  his  fidelity,  and  we  are  let  into  some  of  the 
secrets  of  his  workmanship  and  of  his  sources.     What 


♦Uhland,  one  of  the  first  men  who  tried  to  collate  Saxo  with  Norse 
authorities,  speaks  aptly  of  the  "broad  copiousness,  romantic  ornamen- 
tation, and  sharp-wittedness"  evident  in  the  tale.      (Werke,  v.  205-9.) 


APPENDIX  JI 

sources  he  may  have  had  for  his  story  or  stories  of  Amieth, 
and  some  parallels  that  may  be  found  for  these,  I  now 
briefly  consider. 

11. 

The  tale  of  Saxo  falls  into  two  parts,  divided  by  the 
accession  of  Amieth  to  power  (the  former  part  only,  and 
not  all  of  that,  being  used  by  Shakspere).  These  parts, 
whether  or  no  they  were  connected  originally,  are  closely 
connected  in  Saxo.  Amleth's  relations,  both  with  the 
King  of  Denmark  and  the  King  of  Britain,  are  quite  con- 
tinuous; and  his  adventures  in  Scotland  are  partly  linked 
to  his  past  by  the  storied  shield.  By  this,  Hermutrude 
recognises  Amieth  for  the  famous  hero  who  revenged  his 
father.  Thus  Saxo  offers  us  not  two  stories,  but  two 
chapters  in  the  same  story.  This  is  important  for  those 
who  would  decompose  Amieth  into  two  distinct  heroes, 
one  belonging  to  the  Third  and  one  to  the  Fourth  Book. 
Such  theorists  have  to  admit  either  that  Saxo  deliberately 
invented  the  above  links  between  the  two,  or  that  he  took 
the  legend  in  some  form  later  than  what  they  profess  to 
be  the  original  one.  We  must  note,  then,  what  indications 
Saxo  himself  gives  of  his  sources,  and  what  undoubted 
parallels  can  be  found.  The  following  are  materials  for 
a  judgment. 

It  is  clear  from  one  passage  that  Saxo  had  tivo  versions 
before  him  for  at  least  a  single  trait.  When  Amieth 
detects  a  taint  in  the  King  of  England's  liquor,  it  is 
found  to  come  from  a  well  spoilt  with  sword-rust; 
but  "others  relate"  that  he  "detected  some  bees  that  had 

591 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

formerly  fed  in  the  paunch  of  a  dead  man."  No  sucH 
reference  to  another  version  is  found  elsewhere  in  the 
story,  nor  is  there  anything  in  the  passage  to  tell  us 
whether  the  sources  before  Saxo  were  oral  or  written. 

Amleth  was  in  popular  tradition  a  Jutlander.  "A 
plain  in  Jutland  is  to  be  found,  famous  for  his  name  and 
burial-place."  Two  places,  says  Miiller,  are  still  called 
Amelhede.  If  we  are  to  trust  Saxo  as  a  reporter 
at  all,  this  proves  that  the  tale  as  he  received  it  concerned 
a  prince  represented  as  (1)  historical,  (2)  Jutish.  That 
there  was  such  a  prince  we  have  no  positive  evidence  for 
believing ;  that  the  legend  in  this  form  concerns  a  Jute,  is 
consistent  with  either  a  Danish  or  an  Icelandic  authorship 
for  Saxo's  version  of  it.  To  form  an  opinion  on  this 
latter  point,  we  must  consider  the  bearing  of 

1.  The  allusion  to  Amlodi.  The  verse  put,  in  the  Prose 
Edda,  into  the  mouth  of  the  tenth  century  poet-adven- 
turer, Sn^biorn,  runs  (C.  P.  B.  ii.  55)  :  "Men  say  that 
the  nine  maidens  of  the  island-mill  (the  ocean)  are  work- 
ing hard  at  the  host-devouring  skerry-quern  (the  sea), 
out  beyond  the  skirts  of  the  earth ;  yea,  they  have  for  ages 
past  been  grinding  at  Amlodi's  meal-bin  (the  sea)."  This 
is  the  only  extant  allusion  to  Amlodi  by  name  earlier  than 
vSaxo.  The  inference  from  it  is,  that  a  myth  was  current 
in  Iceland,  200  years  before  Saxo,  concerning  a  man  or 
giant,  Amlodi,  whose  quern  the  sea  was  called;  perhaps 
an  inhabitant  of  its  depths.  He,  then,  is  (1)  mythical, 
(2)  Icelandic.  We  can  now  pursue  comparisons  in 
Icelandic  myth,  both  ancient  and  modern,  not  indeed  to 
this,  but  to  other  points  of  Saxo's  narrative. 

592 


APPENDIX  II 

2.  Parallels  to  the  earlier  part  (Bk.  iii)  of  Amleth's 
career  are  found  in  the  tale  of  Helgi  and  Hroar  in 
Hrolfssaga  Kraka.  Let  us  number  these.  There  are  (i) 
the  dispossessed  sons  of  Ilalfdan,  whom  (ii)  his  brother 
Frodi  has  murdered.  Frodi  (iii)  pursues  them,  and  tries 
by  sorcerers  to  find  their  whereabouts;  but  is  baulked  by 
the  astuteness  of  Vifil,  who  keeps  them  on  an  isle.  They 
go  (iv)  to  a  feast  with  Half  dan,  disguised  and  under  false 
names,  one  of  them  (v)  behaving  wildly.  Their  sister 
Signy  recognises  them,  there  is  a  scene  of  confusion,  they 
nail  up  the  doors;  (vi)  the  king  is  destroyed,  as  well  as 
(vii)  their  mother,  who  refuses  to  quit  the  hall,  and  whom 
we  may  infer  (viii?)  had  allied  herself  with  the  usurper. 

These  resemblances  to  Amleth's  story  resolve  them- 
selves mainly  into  the  mot'we  for  vengeance  and  the 
method  of  vengeance.  The  element  of  feigned  madness 
is  lightly  toiiched  on  ("Helgi  ....  laetr  ser  alia  vega 
heimskliga,"  p.  9)  ;  but  the  version  of  this  tale  which 
Saxo  himself  gives  us  (Bk.  vii),  wdierein  the  names 
of  the  sons  or  Harald  and  Halfdan,  brings  out 
the  feigned  inadness  more  strongly,  and  lays  equal  stress 
on  the  crime  and  the  punishment.*  The  Amleth  story 
however,  is  so  different  in  its  details  that  the  resemblance 
of  these  three  elements  is  somewhat  obscured.  We  can- 
not say  which,  if  either,  is  the  parent  stor\%  or  whether 
the  stories  are  collaterals,  and  variants  descended  from 

*The  story  of  the  concealment  of  the  two  boys  under  hounds'  guise  is 
the  Lancelot-Lionel  story,  where  the  Dame  du  lac  hides  two  kingly  children 
from  foes  by  actually  turning  them  for  the  time  into  hounds.  Whether 
this  Celtic  element  was  borrowed  and  added  in  Saxo's  authority  to  the 
story  (as,  for  instance,  the  Tristram  motif  was  added  to  Grettis  Saga1  is  un- 
certain but  the  theory  is  probable.  In  this  case  the  original  Halfdan  and 
Harald  story  may  have  been  closer  still  to  Saxo's  Amiethus.  The  incident 
of  two  lads  avenging  in  their  youth  a  murderer  of  their  father  occurs  la 
the  Icelandic  family  Sagas. — F.  Y.  P. 

593 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

some  widespread  and  early  version.  The  latter  is  more 
likely;  but  the  existence  of  this  version  is  itself  conject- 
ural. The  comparison  only  establishes  that  Saxo's  tale  of 
Amleth  is  parallel  in  its  three  chief  elements  to  an  Icelandic 
saga,  which  concerns  a  historical  king,  Hrolf  Kraki,  in- 
cluded by  Saxo  in  his  Danish  list  (Bk.  ii),  but  represented 
by  him  as  living  at  a  period  long  before  Amleth. 

But  Amleth  attracted  writers  in  Norse  after  Saxo. 
Two  sagas,  as  yet  unedited,  remain  in  MS.  at  Copen- 
hagen. The  first,  Amlodasaga  Hardvendilssona,  is  a 
free  manipulation  of  Saxo's,  and  is  probably  made  from 
Vedel's  Danish  translation  of  1575.  In  the  second,  called 
Ambales-saga,  or  Amlodasaga,  and  written  after  the 
Reformation,  the  original  tale  is  half-effaced  by  romantic 
elements.  Ambales,  son  of  Salman,  King  of  Cimbria, 
was  called  Amlodi,  "because  he  lay  continually  in  the  fire- 
hall  opposite  the  ash-heap."  He  (i)  escapes  from  an 
invading  usurper  by  (ii)  sham  madness,  while  his  elder 
brother,  who  is  more  simple,  is  killed.  The  usurper  (iii) 
marries  perforce  Ambales'  mother,  Amba.  Ambales  does 
nothing  but  "fashion  (iv)  very  small  spits  from  hard 
wood,  and  when  they  seemed  ready  he  left  them  in  a 
corner  near  the  fire-house."  He  also  gives  strange 
answers,  and  when  asked  where  he  felt  the  death  of  his 
father  worst,  he  said  "Sorest  behind."  There  is  (v)  an 
eavesdropper,  whom,  hidden  under  the  queen's  bed,  Am- 
bales kills.  He  is  then  sent  to  Tamerlane,  but  (vi)  on 
the  way  changes  the  names  in  the  death-warrant,  so  that 
(vii)  the  messengers  are  killed.  He  (viii)  marries 
Tamerlane's   daughter,   and   goes   back    for   vengeance. 

594 


APPENDIX  II 

In  (ix)  fool's  guise  he  creeps  into  the  hall,  (x)  nails  down 
the  clothes  of  the  company  with  his  pegs,  and  (xi)  sets 
fire  to  the  hall.  The  rest  is  fighting  and  fairy  tales. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  this  is  a  form  of  Saxo's  tale;  the 
question  is,  whether  it  bears  traces  of  being  partly  drawn 
from  any  source  different  from  his. 

Now  an  interesting  and  undoubted  variant  of  this  last 
tale  has  been  found  in  modem  Icelandic  folk-lore.  The 
tale  of  Brjam  relates  how  an  Ahab-like  king  coveted,  not 
the  vineyard,  but  the  cow  of  a  poor  man.  His  servants 
kill  the  man  and  the  two  elder  sons.  "They  asked  the 
children  where  they  felt  the  pain  sorest.  All  clapped  their 
breasts  save  Brjam,  who  clapped  his  hinderlands  and 
grinned."  The  others  are  killed,  but  he  is  (i)  spared  as 
witless,  and  his  mother  makes  him  a  sorcerer.  He  (ii) 
fosters  revenge,  and  in  the  end  goes  (iii)  to  a  feast  of  the 
king,  having  previously  got  and  wrought  at  (iv)  some 
wooden  pegs,  like  Amleth's  crooks.  Asked  their  use,  he 
(v)  says,  "to  avenge  daddy"  (hefna  papa),  but  is  derided. 
Pointing  these  wdth  steel,  he  (vi)  fastens  the  f casters  to 
the  benches  while  they  drink.  They  grow  angry  and 
slay  one  another.  Brjam  then  marries  the  princess  and 
(vii)  becomes  king. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  two  stories  have  several 
points  in  common  which  are  not  in  Saxo,  especially  the 
killing  of  the  elder  brother  and  sparing  of  the  younger, 
who  feigns  madness,  together  w-ith  the  answer  of  the 
latter.  As  Dr.  Better  points  out,  the  two  when  put 
together  supply  many  of  the  traits  of  Amleth,  such  as 
his  answer  that  he  will  avenge  his  father.    I  do  not,  how- 

595 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

ever,  follow  his  conclusion  that  we  have  here  a  composi- 
tion independent  of  Saxo,  which  has  even  preserved  some 
motives  of  the  Brutus-story  lacking  in  Saxo,  The  Brutus 
story  of  which  it  is  time  now  to  speak,  may  have  been 
known  to  and  have  influenced  the  makers  of  this  version, 
which  yet  may  have  rested  mainly  upon  Saxo.  (Before 
passing  on  it  is  worth  noting  that  Saxo's  tale  was  trolled 
far  and  wide  in  popular  song  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  The  Danish  Rime-Chronicle,  ascribed  to  Niels  i 
of  Soro,  and  published  in  1495,  follows  Saxo  only,  and 
casts  every  essential  incident  into  its  running  doggerel. 
It  brings  in  nothing  new.) 

But  other  elements  in  Saxo's  tale  take  us  back  to  Roman 
story.  When  Amleth  has  caused  the  King  of  England 
to  hang  Feng's  messengers,  he  makes  out  their  death  to  be 
a  grievance,  exacts  gold  for  were-gild,  and  pours  it 
molten  into  hollow  staves.  Asked  on  his  return  where 
the  men  are,  he  points  to  the  staves,  and  says, 
"There  are  both."  This  he  does  partly  to  increase  his 
repute  for  madness,  partly  on  his  principle  of  telling  the 
literal  truth. 

This,  together  with  the  feigned  madness,  constitutes  so 
striking  a  likeness  between  the  tales  of  Amleth  and 
Brutus,  as  to  prove  their  connection.  Belleforest  and  the 
old  commentators  were  fond  of  making  a  comparison ;  we  '^ 
see  a  relationship.  The  Roman  tale  is  found  in  Livy, 
Valerius  Maximus,  besides  Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus, 
each  of  whom  gives  his  own  colouring  and  his  own  turn 
to  it.  Valerius  we  know  that  Saxo  read ;  and  there  are 
also  traits  which  occur  in  Saxo  and  Livy,  but  not  in 
Valerius.  _  g 


APPENDIX  II 

They  leave  Delphi,  and  the  well-known  tale  follows  of 
Brutus  kissing  his  mother  earth.  Brutus  does  not  throw 
off  the  niask  till  the  death  of  Lucretia,  when  he  suddenly 
vows  that  kings  shall  cease  at  Rome,  and  gnves  his  friends 
the  suicide's  knife;  they  "wonder  at  the  marvel,  whence 
was  this  strange  wit  in  the  breast  of  Brutus."  The  sequel 
shows  him  dethroning  the  tyrant,  and  elected  one  of  the 
first  consuls. 

Such  is  the  story  of  Livy.  The  points  to  note  are 
these:  (i)  The  uncle,  a  usurper,  who  has  already  killed  a 
son  of  the  old  king,  now  slays  one  of  his  own  nephews 
who  is  spirited  and  unwary,  and  (ii)  persecutes  the  other, 
w^ho  (iii)  escapes  by  seeming  doltish.  This  nephew^  then 
(iv)  goes  on  an  errand  with  two  companions,  who  think 
him  foolish;  he  (v)  puts  gold  in  his  sticks  by  kissing  the 
earth;  he  (vi)  outwits  his  companions,  he  awakens  up  on 
emergency;  he  (vii)  matures  revenge  and  works  it;  he 
(viii)  succeeds  to  powder.  These  likenesses  to  Saxo's  tale 
are  clear;  but  Saxo,  there  is  no  doubt,  knew  the  story 
best  from  his  favourite,  Valerius  Maximus. 

Valerius,  therefore,  adds  nothing  to  Livy,  but  on  the 
contrary  reduces  and  dries  up  his  story.  Dionysius  of 
Halicarnassus'  accoimt  of  the  matter  may  be  considerably 
shortened.  Here,  Brutus's  father  and  brother  have  been 
murdered  by  Tarquin.  "Brutus  being  young  and  wholly 
without  support,  undertook  the  wisest  possible  project: 
he  libelled  himself  with  an  assumption  of  folly;  and  he 
from  that  time  forth  continually  kept  up  the  pretence  of 
being  stupid,  whence  he  received  this  surname,  and  this 
saved  him  from  suffering  any  harm  at  the  hands  of  the 

20  597 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

tyrant,  while  many  good  men  perished."  Tarquin  then 
takes  away  his  goods,  and  keeps  him  with  his  children  to 
be  their  butt.  They  visit  Delphi,  and,  after  hearing  the 
oracle,  "they  presented  offerings  to  the  god,  and  mocked 
much  at  Brutus  because  he  offered  to  Apollo  a  wooden 
stick;  but  he  had  bored  it  through  like  a  flute,  and  put 
in  it  a  rod  of  gold,  without  any  man  knowing."  The 
usual  sequel  is  repeated.  Later,  on  being  made  consul, 
he  harangues  the  Romans  in  a  way  reminding  us  of 
Amleth,  explaining  how  he  had  assumed  the  mien  of  a 
man  distracted,  and  had  seemed  a  fool.  This  feature, 
absent  in  Livy  and  Valerius,  is  the  only  one  that  raises  a 
possibility  (quite  remote)  of  Dionysius  having  reached 
Saxo  through  some  epitome  or  Latinised  citations. 

These  points  of  likeness  are  apparent.  Another  is  the 
name  of  Amleth,  Amlodi.  Like  Brutus,  it  means  dull  or 
foolish.  Vigfusson  {led.  Diet.  s.  v.)  conjecturally  con- 
nects it  with  an  Anglo-Saxon  word  homola,  which  occurs 
once  in  the  laws  of  Alfred, and  which  he  translates  "fool;" 
But  Bosworth  and  Toller  give  up  the  meaning  of  homola. 
Vigfusson  gives  as  a  secondary  modern  meaning,  "an 
imbecile,  weak  person,  one  of  weak  bodily  frame,  unable 
to  do  work,  not  up  to  the  mark.  'You  are  a  great 
Amlodi,  that  is,  a  weak  fellow,  poor  fool.'  "  Compounds 
carry  out  his  idea,  amloda-skapr,  for  instance,  meaning 
imbecility.  Aasen  (Norsk  Ordbog,  1877)  gives  amlod 
in  a  modern  Norwegian  dialect  as  a  pestering  fool, 
amlode  to  pester  foolishly. 

The  reference  in  Snaebiorn's  verse  to  an  Oceanic 
Amlodi  clearly  shows  that  the  word  as  a  proper  name  is 

598 


APPENDIX  II 

200  years  older  than  Saxo.  Nor  is  there  anything  in 
that  verse  to  show  that  this  being  was  stupid.  The  name, 
therefore,  may  be  guessed  to  have  gained  its  connotation 
of  "stupid"  (and  thence  to  have  entered  the  language) 
from  the  story  Saxo  knew  and  repeated.  The  prince  was 
not  called  Amleth  because  he  feigned  stupidity;  but, 
because  Amleth  did  so,  his  name  came  to  mean  "stupid." 
The  view,  therefore,  that  the  name  of  Amleth  is  a  delib- 
erate translation  of  the  word  Brutus  into  Norse,  is 
unnecessary. 

But  is  the  story,  as  Dr.  Better  holds,  an  immigrant 

version  of  the  Brutus-story,  "transformed  and  taken  up 

as  the  Hamlet-saga  into  Norse  literature?"     "We  find 

it,"  he  says,  "in  the  Skald  Snasbiorn,  in  the  verse  Edda, 

and  in  the  saga  of  Hrolf  Kraki.     In  the  twelfth  century 

Saxo  Grammaticus  works  it  up.     The  saga  wanders  to 

the  extreme  north  of  Europe,  where  we  find  it  as  Ambales- 

saga,  and  where  it  has  survived  till  to-day  in  the  folk-tale 

of  Brjam."     On  this  view,  the  skeleton  at  least  of  the 

story  is  directly  taken  from  the  Latin  classics,  while  the 

Norse  elements  are  so  many  accretions.     Certainly  the 

likenesses  between  the  Brutus  tale  and  the  sundry  forms 

of  the  Amleth  tale  are  remarkable ;  and  to  do  this  theory 

'justice  they  may  be  recapitulated.     They  are:    (i)    the 

usurping  uncle;  (ii)  the  persecuted  nephew ;  (iii)  his  loss 

of  his  elder  brother,  and  own  escape;  (iv)   his  feigned 

madness,  which  deceives  everybody;  (v)  his  going  on  a 

journey;  (vi)  his  maturing  of  revenge;  (vii)  his  putting 

gold  in  the  stick;  (viii)  his  punishing  his  foes;  and(ix) 

his  coming  to  power. 

599 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

But  we  must  also  bear  in  mind  the  many  features  in 
Saxo  alone  which  have  xio  analogue  at  all  in  any  shape  of 
the  Latin  story.  They  are  (i)  the  part  played  by  the 
prince's  mother;  (ii)  the  plans  against  him;  (iii)  all  his 
devices,  besides  the  sticks,  to  baulk  them;  (iv)  the  part 
played  by  the  prototypes  of  Ophelia  and  Polonius;  (v) 
the  whole  fashion  of  revenge,  and  (vi)  the  entire  chapter 
of  Amleth's  adventures  in  England. 

With  the  element  represented  in  the  classics,  therefore, 
an  equally  large  element,  presumably  Norse,  is  found  in 
combination.  The  question  is,  how  the  apparently  classic 
element  came  in  ?  Did  Saxo  find  it  there,  or  did  he  put  , 
it  there?  A  strong  presumption  tliat  he  put  in  some  of 
it,  is  found  in  the  episode  of  the  sticks  filled  with  gold. 
This  was  in  Valerius,  whom  he  habitually  read.  Also, 
given  a  story  to  his  hand  with  any  resemblance  to  that  of 
Brutus,  he  would  be  strongly  tempted  to  improve  the 
resemblance,  and  probably  did  so.  But,  in  that  case,  how 
much  he  added  from  other  sources,  or  his  own  fancy,  it  is 
impossible  to  guess.  Even  that  unknown  amount  of 
resemblance  to  the  Brutus  story  which  Saxo  found  and 
did  not  make,  may  be  due  to  many  causes.  There  is  no 
need  to  assume  an  infiltration  of  the  classic  saga.  The 
motive  may  have  been  part  of  the  general  European  fund, 
of  which  the  Latin  and  Norse  versions  may  be  separate 
offshoots.  We  cannot  yet  tell.  Likewise,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  determine  how  far  Saxo  found  the  Danish*  ele- 

*There  is  no  doubt  that  (as  Dr.  Olrik  points  out,  Kild.  til  Saksea  Old 
Historie.  p.  132;  Kong.  Nord.  Oldsk.,  1892)  that  the  forms  Amlethus 
(Jutish)  and  Hermintruda  (German)  point  to  Danish  origin,  as  do  the  local 
associations,  the  anonymity  of  many  of  the  personages  (un-Icelandic),  and 
other  traits  of  the  story,  the  absence  of  verse  for  instance. — F.  Y.  P. 

600 


APPENDIX  II 

ment  and  the  Icelandic  elements  already  united,  and 
how  far  (if  at  all)  he  united  them  himself.  We  can 
only  say  that  a  tradition,  connected  first  with  a  mythical 
Norse  name,  and  with  Icelandic  sagas  early  and  late,  is 
by  Saxo  attached  to  a  prince  of  Jutland,  and  bears  traces 
of  classical  influence;  and  further,  that  Saxo  had 
different  versions  before  him  which  he  sifted.  It  may  be 
objected  this  is  merely  to  restate  the  problem  we  began 
with  ;  and  so  it  is.  But,  with  the  facts  before  us,  we  can  at 
least  shun  licence  of  hypothesis.  And  we  really  know 
too  little — though  this  also  has  been  a  ground  teeming 
with  hypothesis — of  the  degree  to  which  Saxo  habitually 
altered  his  materials,  to  justify  us  in  decomposing  his 
saga  further.* 


♦There  is  a  type  of  old  story  occurring  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
which  relates  how  a  wicked  king  usurps  a  kingdom.  The  hero,  pretending 
to  be  a  fool,  executes  vengeance  by  letting  in  the  water  of  the  sea  upon 
the  king  and  his  palace  and  realm,  which  is  sunk  under  the  waves,  only 
appearing  now  and  then  at  low  tides  or  by  fragments  dragged  up  by 
fishermen's  anchors.  There  is  a  woman  of  the  Ophelia  type,  apparently, 
in  some  versions  of  the  story  (see  Four  Ancient  Books  of  Wales,  i.  302,  310  ; 
ii.  59,  353).  Now,  there  are  several  marked  indications  of  sea-influence  in 
this  Amlethus  story  ;  his  remarks  touching  the  rudder  smack  of  the  sea. 
Snwbiorn  speaks  of  his  mill  and  the  sand  his  meal.  He  kills  his  foes  by 
a  net  which  trammels  them.  There  is  the  feigned  madness,  the  usurper, 
the  woman,  common  elements  in  both.  Is  it  not  possible  that  the  original 
Amlethus  took  vengeance  by  water,  not  by  fire?  Is  not  this  folk-tale, 
the  Sea-Hamlet,  one  of  the  ground-elements  in  Saxo's  story?  The  "rid- 
dles" (which  might  originally  have  been  in  verse),  must  be  part  of  the 
original  story ;  they  are  not  Saxo's  inventions,  In  our  judgment. 

Note. — Since  the  above  was  in  type,  Professor  Rhys  has  kindly  sent 
us  a  summary  of  an  unpublished  Irish  tale  copied  by  him  from  Bodley  MS. 
Laud  610  (foil.  96-7),  of  the  same  general  kind  as  the  story  given  in  sec- 
tion 5,  though  no  kinship  can  be  supposed.  There  is  (i)  a  rightful  heir  (ii) 
reared  by  his  foster-father,  and  (iii)  in  the  end  dispossessing  an  usurper. 
The  heir  (iv)  gives  a  wise  answer.  The  story  in  its  other  features  touches 
rather  the  great  class  that  deals  with  princes  reared  among  beasts,  like 
William  of  Palerne.  We  are  glad  to  print  Professor  Rhys'  summary  here, 
as  being  of  interest  in  a  book  on  folk-lore  : — 

"The  battle  of  Magh  Mucruimhe  was  fought  between  Art,  King  of 
Ireland,  and  Mac  Con.  The  latter  had  been  banished,  and  returned  with 
allies  from  Britain.  They  invaded  Connaught,  and  Magh  Mucruimhe  is 
supposed  by  O'Curry  (MS.  Materials,  p.  43)  to  be  between  Athenree  and 
Galway,  and  he  guesses  the  date  to  have  been  lO.'i  a.  d.  Irish  history 
speaks   of    it   as   a   great   battle,    and,    as    usual    in    Irish   story,    the    great 

6oi 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

leaders  slept  ■with  young  women  of  distinction  the  night  before  going  to 
the  battle,  that  they  might  leave  issue.  Several  of  the  latter  figure  in 
Irish  story.  This  was  the  case  with  Art,  the  King  of  Ireland  ;  he  fell  in 
the  battle,  leaving  Achtan,  the  maid  with  whom  he  slept,  with  child.  In 
due  time  the  child  was  born  :  it  was  a  boy,  and  was  named  Cormac — the 
celebrated  Cormac  Mac  Airt  he  became.  After  the  battle  Mac  Con  usurped 
the  kingly  power,  and  ruled  at  Tara  for  thirty  years,  when  he  was  super- 
seded by  Cor  Mac  Airt.  I  ought  to  have  said  that  Mac  Con  was  related  to 
Art  •  he  appears  to  have  been  the  son  of  his  sister. 

"Now  as  to  Cormac's  story.  When  he  was  born,  five  spells  were  sung 
over  him  to  defend  him  against  (1)  wounds,  (2)  drowning,  (3)  fire,  (4) 
brevity  of  life  (?),  (5)  wolves.  [In  fact,  he  died  an  old  man,  choked  by 
a  salmon-bone,  at  the  wish  of  a  Druid  who  became  angry  with  him  for 
becoming  Christian.]  When  he  was  a  young  child,  a  she-wolf  carried  Cor- 
mac away  from  his  mother's  side,  and  the  beast  suckled  him,  till  a  certain 
man  found  him  running  with  the  cubs  of  the  she-wolf.  He  caught  him 
and  fed  him  for  a  year,  when  his  mother  Achtan  heard  of  it,  and  came  for 
the  child.  The  man  gave  her  the  child,  and  told  her  the  story  of  his  find- 
ing it  He  sent  her  away  secretly  when  he  discovered  that  the  child  was 
son  of  Art,  as  he  felt  that  he  was  risking  his  own  life  if  this  reached  tha 
ears  of  Mac  Con,  the  King  of  Tara.  ^.     .^      ,    t     ,      ^    *      *v,      *    ^ 

"Achtan  and  her  child  went  to  the  North  of  Ireland  to  the  foster- 
father  of  Art,  and  on  her  way  she  was  attacked  by  a  pack  of  wolves,  which 
were  however,  diverted  by  a  herd  of  deer  attracting  their  attention.  At 
the  house  of  Art's  foster-father  the  mother  and  child  remained,  and  Cormac 
was  brought  up  there  till  he  was  thirty  years  of  age.  Then  he  was 
equipped  with  the  sword,  the  gold  ring,  and  the  raiment  of  his  father,  and 
sent  alone  to  Tara.  At  the  gates  of  Tara  Cormac  found  a  man  disputmg 
with  a  woman,  who  was  weeping  bitterly,  whereupon  Cormac  made  for  the 
man  and  drew  his  sword.  The  man  proved  to  be  Nechtan,  the  King's  stew- 
ard and  in  spite  of  his  remonstrance  he  had  to  surrender.  Whereupon 
Cormac  bound  him  to  grant  him  a  boon  :  the  boon  proved  to  be  that  he  was 
to  say  nothing  at  the  Court  of  Tara  about  him  (Cormac).  This  granted, 
Cormac  inquired  why  the  woman  was  weeping,  and  the  steward  replied  that 
she  wept  because  that  she  did  not  like  a  judgment  pronounced  by  the  King, 
namely,  that  she  was  to  forfeit  her  sheep  for  the  damage  they  had  done  by 
grazing  on  the  Queen's  lawn.  It  were  more  just,  said  Cormac.  that  the  one 
fleecing  [the  wool  of  the  sheep]  should  be  taken  as  indemnity  for  the  other 
[the  grazing  the  sheep  had  done].  The  steward  reported  this  to  the  King, 
who  exclaimed  that  the  man  who  said  that  was  to  be  his  successor  on  the 
throne  of  Tara,  adding,  'If  there  be  a  man  of  the  race  of  Art  in  Erinn,  it  is 
that  man.'  Mac  Con  thereupon  quitted  Tara,  and  left  it  and  the  kingdom 
in  the  hands  of  Cormac," 


602 


APPENDIX   III. 


LAST  NEWS  OF  STARCAD. 


The  Tale  of  Thorstan  shiver  (Flafey-book,  i. 
416). — It  is  told  that  the  summer  after  King  Olaf 
(Tr}''ggAvason)  went  to  guest  quarters  east  over  the  Wick 
and  other  places  about.  He  took  quarters  at  the  home- 
stead that  is  called  Rain.  He  had  a  good  many  men  with 
him.  There  was  a  man  then  with  the  king  whose  name 
was  Thorstan,  the  son  of  Thorkell,  the  son  of  Asgar 
jedicoll,  the  son  of  Audun  shackle,  an  Icelander,  and  he 
had  come  to  the  king  the  winter  before. 

In  the  evening,  as  men  sat  over  the  drink-tables.  King 
Olaf  said  that  no  man  of  his  men  was  to  go  alone  into  the 
hall  by  night :  and  that  anyone  who  wished  to  go  should 
call  his  bedfellow  with  him;  or  else,  he  said,  he  would 
not  permit  it.  Men  now  drank  well  the  evening  through, 
and  when  the  drink-table  was  off  men  went  to  bed.  And 
as  the  night  wore  on,  Thorstan  the  Icelander  woke,  and 
was  minded  to  get  out  of  his  berth ;  but  he  that  lay  beside 
him  was  sleeping  so  soundly  that  Thorstan  would  not  at 
all  wake  him.  He  stood  up  and  slipped  his  shoes  on  his 
feet  and  took  a  thick  rug  over  him  and  walked  to  the 
draught-house.     It  was  a  big  house,  and  set  so  that  eleven 

603 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

men  could  sit  on  either  side.  He  sat  down  on  the  nearest 
seat.  And  when  he  had  sat  there  a  Httle  while  he  saw  a 
puck  come  up  out  of  the  inmost  seat  and  sit  down  there. 
Then  said  Thorstan,  "Who  is  come  there?"  The  fiend 
answereth,  "Here  is  come  Thorkell  the  thin  that  fell  at 
Bra-field  with  King  Harald  War-tooth."  "Whence 
comest  thou  now?"  quoth  Thorstan.  He  said  he  was 
come  fresh  from  hell.  "What  canst  tell  me  about  it?" 
asked  Thorstan.  He  answereth,  "What  wilt  thou  know 
about?"  "W^ho  beareth  his  pain  best  in  Hell ?"  "None 
better,"  quoth  the  puck,  "than  Sigurd  Fafnesbane." 
"What  pain  hath  he?"  "He  kindleth  the  burning  oven," 
saith  the  ghost.  "That  seemeth  not  to  me  so  great  a  pain," 
saith  Thorstan.  "That  is  not  so,"  quoth  the  puck,  "for 
he  himself  is  the  kindling."  "Then  it  is  great,"  quoth 
Thorstan.  "But  who  beareth  his  pain  the  worst?"  The 
ghost  answereth,  "Starcad  the  old  beareth  it  worst,  for  he 
will  be  whooping  so  that  it  is  greater  punishment  to  us 
fiends  than  well-nigh  all  else,  inasmuch  as  we  can  get  no 
rest  for  his  whooping."  "What  punishment  hath  he, 
then?"  quoth  Thorstan,  "that  he  beareth  so  ill,  so  stout  a 
man  as  he  hath  been  called?"  "He  hath  his  ankles  afire." 
"That  doth  not  seem  to  me  so  much,"  said  Thorstan,  "for 
such  a  champion  as  he  hath  been."  "It  is  not  acounted 
so  little,"  quoth  the  ghost,  "for  only  the  soles  of  his  feet 
stand  up  out  of  the  fire."  "That  is  a  great  punishment," 
quoth  Thorstan,"  "and  do  thou  whoop  a  whoop  like  him  ?" 
"So  it  shall  be,"  quoth  the  puck.  Then  he  cast  asunder 
the  chaps  on  him  and  set  up  a  great  howl.  But  Thorstan 
pulled  the  skirt  of  the  rug  over  his  head.     He  was  right 

604 


APPENDIX  III 

ill  at  ease  with  that  whoop,  and  he  spake,  "Doth  he  whoop 
his  biggest  whoop  so  ?"  "Far  from  it,"  quoth  the  ghost, 
for  that  is  the  whoop  of  a  paltry  little  devil  like  me." 
"Whoop  a  little  like  Starcad,"  quoth  Thorstan.  "That 
may  well  be,"  quoth  the  puck.  Then  he  betook  him  to 
whooping  a  second  time,  and  so  frightfully  that  it  was  a 
wonder  to  Thorstan  how  so  small  a  fiend  could  make  such 
a  mighty  howl,  Thorstan  did  as  before ;  he  wrapped  the 
rug  about  his  head  and  covered  him  so,  nevertheless  a 
swoon  came  over  him  so  that  he  lost  his  senses.  Then  the 
puck  asked,  "Why  art  thou  silent?"  Thorstan  answered, 
"I  was  silent  because  I  was  wondering  what  a  mighty 
power  of  noise  there  is  in  thee,  so  small  a  puck  as  methinks 
thou  art.  And  is  that  the  biggest  whoop  of  Starcad?" 
"It  is  no  nearer  it,"  saith  he ;  "it  is  rather  the  least  of  his 
whoops."  "Put  it  off  no  more,"  quoth  Thorstan,  "and  let 
me  hear  his  biggest  whoop."  The  puck  agreed  thereto. 
Thorstan  made  him'  ready  against  it,  and  drew  the  rug 
together,  and  so  turned  it  over  his  head  and  held  it  outside 
with  his  two  hands.  The  ghost  had  moved  up  toward 
Thorstan  about  three  seats  with  each  whoop,  and  there 
were  now  only  three  seats  between  them.  Then  the  puck 
puffed  out  his  chaps  fearfully,  and  rolled  his  eyes,  and 
began  to  howl  so  loud  that  Thorstan  thought  it  passed  all 
measure. 

And  at  that  nick  a  bell  rang  in  the  place,  and  Thorstan 
fell  forward  senseless  down  on  to  the  floor.  But  the 
puck,  when  he  heard  the  noise  of  the  bell,  was  so  moved 
that  he  sank  down  through  the  floor,  and  one  might  long 
hear  the  booming  of  him  down  in  the  earth.     Thorstan 

605 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS 

soon  came  to  himself,  and  stood  up  and  walked  to  his 
berth  and  lay  down. 

And  in  the  morning  men  got  up,  the  king  went  to 
church  and  heard  the  hours.     After  that  they  walked  to 
table.     The  king  was  not  very  blithe.     He  took  up  his 
speech,  "Did  any  man  go  alone  to  the  draught-house  last 
night  ?"     Thorstan  then  stood  up  and  bowed  down  before 
the  king,  and  said  that  he  had  broken  his  command.     The 
king  answereth,  "It  hath  not  so  greatly  offended  me :  but 
thou  showest  what  is  told  of  you  Icelanders,  that  ye  are 
very   self-willed.     But  didst  see  anything?"     Thorstan 
told  him  then  the  whole  story  as  it  had  happened.     The 
king  asked,  "What  didst  think  when  he  whooped?"       "I 
will  tell  thee.  Lord,  I  thought  I  could  tell  from  thy  having 
warned  all  men  not  to  go  thither  alone,  when  the  bogey 
came  up,  that  we  should  not  part  without  scathe.     But  I 
thought    that    thou    wouldst    waken,    Lord,    when    he 
whooped,  and  I  thought  if  thou  should  learn  to  know  of  it, 
I  should  then  be  holpen."     "It  was  so,"  said  the  king, 
"that  I  woke  with  it  and  thereby  I  knew  what  was  going 
on,  wherefor  I  had  the  bell  rung,  for  I  knew  that  thou 
couldst  not  otherwise  endure.    But  wast  not  afraid  when 
the  puck  began  to  whoop?"  Thorstan  answered,  "I  know 
not  what  it  is  to  be  afraid."      "Was  never  fear  in  thy 
breast?"  said  the  king.    "Never,"  said  Thorstan,  "though 
with  that  last  whoop  a  shiver  well-nigh  shot  into  my 
breast."     Answereth  the  king,  "Now  thy  name  shall  be 
eked,  and  thou  called  Thorstan  Shiver  henceforward.  And 
here  is  a  sword  that  I  will  give  thee  as  a  name-fastening." 
Thorstan  thanked  him.     It  is  told  that  Thorstan  became 

606 


APPENDIX  III 


a  court-man  of  King  Olaf's,  and  was  with  him  him  after- 
wards, and  fell  with  other  of  the  king's  champions  on  the 
Long  Serpent. 


"and  the  end  was  ever  to  do  WEIvI.." 


607 


INDEX 


TO 


CHARACTERS  AND  PLACES 


SAXO  GRAMMATICUS. 


Aascn,  598. 

Absalon,  77,  584. 

Achtan,  G02. 

Adam  of  Bremen,  62. 

Africanus,   348. 

Ahab,  595. 

Agapete,   570. 

Agg,    261,    471,    513. 

Aggi,  474. 

Agdar,  Ness,  359. 

Agnar,  30,  38,  158,  545. 

Akr,  475. 

Aland,  473. 

Alf,    331,    336,    427. 

Alfhild,  30,  94,  309,  428. 

Alfred,  33,  43,  598. 

Allemania,  94. 

Alger,  427. 

Alrec,  31. 

Alver,  451. 

Amalungs,  61. 

Amba,  594. 

Ambales,  594. 

Ambar,  471. 

Amleth,  208,  587. 

Amlodi,  592. 

Amund,  355. 


Ana-fial,  369. 

Anders,  11,  14. 

Ane,  359. 

Andrew,  78. 

Ane  Bow  Sawyer,  30,  39. 

Anganty,  381. 

Anderson,   Rasmus,  69. 

Angrbode,  72. 

Anglian,    91. 

Ansgarius,  568. 

Anund,  417. 

Apollo,  598. 

Arkon,    579. 

Arminius,   66. 

Arngrim,  31,  39,  65,  336. 

.\ri  the  One-Eyed,  472. 

Arnbiorn,  349. 

Arrow-Odd,  30,  44,  338. 

Art.  652. 

Arwakki,  475. 

Arvarodd,  338. 

Asa,   380. 

Aschaneus,  14. 

Asgard.    48,    196. 

Askil,  508. 

Asnumd,  44,   52,   112,   331,  456. 

Aswid,  331. 

Aswind,  331. 


609 


INDEX 


Atlakvida,  20. 

Attal,  93. 

Athisl,  31,  153,  187,  241. 

Attila,   30,   59. 

Atyl,   484. 

Aulaf,  45. 

B 

Balder,  39,  48,  52,  178. 

Barri,  472. 

Barrow  Burials,  52. 

Bearce,  30,  38. 

Bearsarks,   45. 

Bede,   91. 

Belgi,  472. 

Belleforest,   587. 

Ber,  488,  533. 

Bemon,  473,  366. 

Beorn.  31. 

Beowulf's    Lay,   18,  20,  28,  33, 

39,    51,    52. 
Berg  the  Seer,  475. 
Bersi,  475. 
Biarni,  475. 
Bikk,  504. 
Bild,    258. 
Bilwis,  437. 

Biorn,  331,  349,  475,  515,  545. 
Biargramm  (rock-strong),  415. 
Birwil,   468. 
Birger,  12. 
Birnam  Wood,  42. 
Bjarke,   158,    164. 
Blacmen,    429. 
Blend,   471. 
Bleking,   456,   514. 
Blind  Horace,  27. 
Bluethroth,    577. 
Borgar,  431,  474. 
Bowl,  475. 
Bolwis,  434. 
Boy  King,  268. 
Brage,   102,  475. 
Bra-field,  604. 
Brak,  305. 
Brand,   471. 
Bramason,   472. 
Brat  the  Jute,  472. 


Britain,  78,  124,  143,  147. 

Britons,  340. 

Brjani,   595. 

Brodd,    258. 

Broder,    505. 

Bruan,   15. 

Brun,   468. 

Bravalla,    41,    45. 

Brosinger,  33. 

Brunhild,   52. 

Brutus,   597. 

Buchi,   522. 

Budle,  503. 

Bugg,    258. 

Burgha,  479. 

Burton,  40. 

Byzantium,  48,  110,  196. 


Caesar,  347. 

Canute,    18,   24. 

Carlus,  38. 

Capella,  17. 

Ceres,  402. 

Chaka,  42. 

Chaos,  479. 

Charles  the  Great,  23,  38,  58. 

Chester,  35. 

Christ,   562. 

Christianity,  531,  562. 

Church,  91. 

Cicero,  17. 

Coll,   31. 

Conogard,  328. 

Carmac,  28,  29,  602. 

Corvey,   583. 

Crafty  Soaker,  64,  511. 

Cuchullin,  29. 


Dag,   323. 

Dahan,  473. 

Dal  the   Fat,  472. 

Daleman,   149. 

Dan  and  Angul,  91,  255. 

Danai,  91. 

Danes,  116,  165,  340,  520, 


6lO 


INDEX 


Datter,    Dr.,    599. 

Daxo,  19,  27,  38,  553. 

de   Gesta,  44,   51. 

Deluge,   89. 

Demons,  136. 

Denmark,  88,  141,  228,  312,  561. 

Dia,  553. 

Dimar,    328. 

Dis,  438. 

Dionysius,  596. 

Dorn,   130. 

Dovrefjeld,  487. 

Drota,    448. 

Druid,  602. 

Dublin,   259,    561. 

Dunwat,   545,   560. 

E 

Easterlings,    369. 

Ebbe,   30,  422,  497. 

Edda,  592. 

Eddie    Lays,   46. 

Egil    The    One-Eyed,    37,    474. 

Egther,  336,  420. 

Egtheow,    31. 

Elbe,  43,  82,  326. 

Eliza,  23. 

Ella,  26,  561. 

Elli,   471,  479. 

Elysium,  171,   438. 

England,  37,  91,  570. 

Enni-gnup,  569. 

Eormenric,    18,   21,   42,   58,    66. 

Erand,  468. 

Erasmus,  11,  17. 

Eric    (Erik),    30,    34,    271,    279, 

304,   415,  560. 
Esa,  485. 
Esbern,  442,  551. 
Esbiorn,   349,   584. 
Eskil,   508. 

Esthonians,    328,    363,    477. 
Etha-Scog,   461. 
Ethelred,  571. 
Everlasting   Battle,   67. 
Eyder,  83. 
Eyfura,   336. 
Eyr,  151. 


Fanning,   258. 

Fates,  361. 

Fauns,   136. 

Feng,   204,  214,   587. 

Ferdia,  29. 

Fialler,   236. 

Finland,  111,  331. 

Finmark,  555. 

Finns,  40,  52,  258. 

Flatey  Book,  48. 

Flat   Noses,   130. 

Flebak,   494. 

Folk,  240. 

Folki.  475. 

Folk  Tales,  66. 

Frakk.    336. 

Fridleif.   257,   347,   544. 

Frey,    47,    50,    69,    70,    117,    186, 

367. 
Friesland,  38,  83. 
Frigga    (Frigg),    48,    110,    173, 

514. 
Frisians,  142,  536. 
F"rithiof,  44. 
Frithlaf,  63. 
Fro,  42,  542. 
Erode,   30,   36,  44,   57,   129,   169, 

257,  261,  284,  340.  569. 
Froblod,  118. 
Frode's  Rock,  335. 
Froger,  30,  257. 
Frogertha,   355. 
Frok,  355. 
Frokasund,  356. 
Frosti,   475. 
Frowene,   30. 
Frowin,  239. 
Funen,   412. 
Fyriswald,  169. 


Gandal,   472. 
Ganlardale,  64,  543. 
Gardar,   479. 
Gardh,  471. 
Garfred,    50. 
Garnum,   456. 


6x1 


INDEX 


Gaston,   15. 

Gaul,  78,  561. 

Gaut,  533. 

Geigad,    368,   401. 

Geir,  472. 

Geirrod,  518. 

Gelder,   181. 

Geoffrey,  5,  76. 

Gerbion,   349. 

Gerit,   198. 

Germany,   143,   505,  534. 

Gerth,  70. 

Gerutha,  207,   587. 

Gerwendil,   204. 

Gestiblind,  330. 

Gewar,  43,  48,  153,  177. 

Giant,  96,  102,  424,  529. 

Giant-Killer,    66. 

Gislamark,   475. 

Gislher,   60. 

Glad,  474. 

Glenn,  32. 

Glomer,  327! 

Glower,    474. 

Glurner,   114. 

Gneipe  the  Old,  471,  479. 

Gnizli,   472. 

Godfred,  19,  27. 

Godefride,   534. 

Godefridus,  38. 

Gods  and  goddesses,  46. 

Goethe,    590. 

Gorm,  515,   532,  570. 

Gotar,  270,  304,  472,  497. 

Gothland,   84,  95,  476,   556. 

Goths,  165,  171,  329. 

Gotric,    37,    532. 

Gotwar,   261,  305. 

Gountrec,  28. 

Gram,  30.  95,  102. 

Greece.   364. 

Grenski,   472. 

Grep,  262,  279. 

Gretter,  60,  474. 

Grim,  475,  420. 

Grimhild,  579. 

Grip,  97. 

Grindir,   474. 

Groa,  73,  95,  431. 


Grubb,  360. 
Grundi,   474, 
Grytha,  92. 
Gudfast,  475. 
Gudmund,  519, 
Gudorm,  567. 
Gudrun,   508. 
Guildenstern,  590. 
Gummi,  475. 
Gunbiorn,  349. 
Gunholm,  258. 
Gunnar,  20,  445. 
Gunne,  198,  461,  501. 
Gunnhild,  113. 
Gunwar,  306. 
Gurid,  431. 
Gustavus,  23. 
Guthorm,  70,  103,  125. 
Guthrum,  57. 
Guti,  474. 
Gywritha,  24. 

H 

Hadd  the  Hard,  474. 

Hagder,  480. 

Hadding,    28,    42,    54,    70,    106, 

112,  121,  129,  276. 
Hagbarde,  26,  432. 
Hakon,  30,  149,  367,  407. 
Hakon   Cut   Cheek,  472. 
Halfdan,   30,   69,   150,   348,   374, 

453,   593. 
Hafle,  102. 
Hagleik,  256,  369, 
Hamming,  539. 
Haki,  473. 

Halogaland,  182,  334,  517, 
Hame,  30,  371,  476,   561. 
Halland,  487. 
Hamlet,  587. 
Handwan,   109,   134. 
Hane,  445. 
Hanef,  362,  372. 
Hanofra,  372. 
Hanund,  286,   434. 
Hardbone,  30. 
Hastin,  473. 
Har,  473. 

6l2 


INDEX 


Hardgrep,  52,   107. 

Harald,  23,  41,  49,  409,  473.  515. 

Harald  War-tooth,  G04. 

Hastings,    42. 

Hather,  436,  489. 

Harald  Hardrcde,  35. 

Hardbeen,  419. 

Hawk,  474. 

Hedin,  44,  326. 

Hela,  49. 

Helge,   36,  50,   1.50,  182.   593. 

Helga,  380. 

Hellas,  52. 

Hellespont,   109,  507. 

Helsings,  327. 

Herlek,  198. 

Hethe,  45,  472.  478. 

Helwin,  434. 

Hendil,   476. 

Hephaistos,   22. 

Heremond.  28. 

Hercules.  95,  171,   279. 

Herlewar,    473. 

Hermutrude,   64,   232. 

Herodd,  553. 

Herwig,  442. 

Hesoid,  74. 

Hethmark,  331. 

Hiale,  30,  466. 

Hialmar,  30,  338. 

Hialte,  471. 

Hiarn,  347,  353. 

Hiartuar,  19,  160.  174. 

Hilda,  326. 

Hildebrand,  20. 

Hildiger,  30,  39,  72,  447. 

Hildigisl,   432. 

Hildisson,    474. 

Hjalte,   158,   172. 

Hlenne,  489. 

Hodbrodd,  177. 

Hoding,  170. 

Hogni,  326. 

Holder,  16,  577. 

Holmar,  476. 

Holmgard,  328. 

Holti,  476. 

Holychurch.  79.  94. 

Holmstein  the  White,  475. 

21 


Homer.  25,  57. 
Ilonii,  473. 
Honiod,   486. 
Horatio,  588. 
Hornclofe,  44. 
Hort,  479. 

Horwendil,   30,   204. 
Hosathul,  473. 
Host's  Bight,  442. 
Hothbrodd.  153,  473. 
Hother,  43,  49,  153,  177. 
Hotherus,  37. 
Hrafn,  271. 

Hroar,  593. 

Hrolf,  37,  66,  594. 

Hrolfssaga    Kraka,    593. 

Mroptr,  47. 

H  roth  gar,  21. 

Humble,  91. 

Humbli,  473. 

Hummehy,  473. 

Hunding,  30,  121,  127,  135,  153. 
456. 

Hunding's  Bane,  151. 

Hunger,  473. 

Huns,   263,   327. 

Huyrwil,   258. 

Hyldetand,    431,   456. 

Hythin,  356,  473. 

Hwirvvil,  468. 

Hwitserk,  550. 


Iceland,  85,  592. 

Ing,  457. 

Ingemund,  27. 

Ingi,   475. 

Ingild,    28,    158,    374,    389,    452. 

lokul.   27. 

Iphegeneia.  10. 

Ironsides,  5.')1. 

Ireland,   259. 

Irish,  369. 

Ismar,  King  of  the  Scots,  499. 

Isefjord,   186. 

Isulf,  261. 

Italy,  78. 

Iwar.  545,  564. 


6l 


INDEX 


Jarmerik,  499. 

Jambers,  328. 

Jather,   445,   485. 

Jellinge,   240. 

Jemts,  328. 

Jodacus,  12. 

Journey  to  Hell,  68. 

Jove,  47,  168,   364. 

Julius,  348. 

Jutland,  83,  204,  237,  339. 

K 

Kalmar,  477. 

Kanute,  568,  578. 

Karentia,  584. 

Karl,  410,  535,  583. 

Keklin-Karl,   475. 

Kelther,  556. 

Ker,  494. 

Kerwil,   343. 

Ket,  30,  239. 

King  of  Britain.  215,  234. 

King   of   the    Easterlings,   320. 

King  of  the  Huns,  320. 

King  of  the  Jemts,  327. 

King  of  Leire,  236. 

King  of  Saxony.  100,  181,  248. 

King  of  Tara,  602. 

Koll,  124,  262,  474. 

Koller,  204. 

Koll-Rasmussen,  16. 

Kraka,  271,   305. 

Krants,  14. 

Krage,  160. 

Krok,  the  Peasant,  475. 

Kuse,  182. 

Kurlanders,  108,  130,   369,  477 


Ladgerda,  542. 
Laesi,  477. 
Laneus,   546. 
Landnamabok,  28. 
Latins,  3G4. 
Latium.   364. 
Lavcrentzen,  14,  16. 


Leire,  173,  456. 
Ler,  151. 
Lasso,  277. 
Leo  the  Pope,  535. 
Leotar,  467. 
Lesy,  476. 
Lewy,  476. 
Lither,  309. 
Livonians,  477. 
Livy,   596. 
Loathly  Worm.  63. 
Lodbrog,  545. 
Lodbrok,  37. 
Loke  (i),  48,  50,  70. 
London,   149. 
Longabardi,  514. 
Long  Serpent,  607. 
Lother,   92. 
Lovi,   159. 
Lucretia,  597. 
Ludwig,  539,  562. 
Lysir,  107. 

M 

Magnus,  20,  578. 

Margaret,  23. 

Mars.  585. 

Matul,  555. 

Maxims,  22. 

Melbrik,  143,  561. 

Mercury,  364. 

Mevil,   326. 

Mimes  and  Jugglers,  46. 

Miming,  38,  179. 

Mit-Othin,  111. 

Monsters,  98,  107,  136,  345. 

Moring,  514. 

Miiller,  13. 

^Nlurial,  560. 

N 

Nanna,  48,  50,  177. 
Nathan,  26. 
Nef,  468. 
Niflung,  60,  578. 
Niels,  of  Soro,  596. 
Njal,  28. 
Nordmor,  327. 


614 


INDEX 


Normandy,  91. 

Norns,  51. 

Norway,  84,  88,  182,  ^06,  560. 

Norwegians,  306,  348. 


Od,  72,  262. 

Odd,   262,  276,  485. 

Odin,    110,    173,    364,    456,    481, 

508. 
Ogier,   51. 

Olaf,  20,  27,  255,  360,  539,  603. 
Oland,  258. 
Ole,   30,   461,   476. 
Oiler,  196. 
Olmar,  320. 
Olrik,  Dr.,  600. 
Olwir,  471. 
Oly,  475. 
Omi,  313. 
Omund,    484. 
Onef,  327,  468. 
Ophelia,  588. 
Orcus,  128,  438.  482. 
Orkneys,   46,   328. 
Orwar-Odd.    39. 
Osten,    42S,  566. 
Ostmar,  445. 
Other  Worlds,  54. 
Otrit  the  Young,  472. 
Ottar,  423. 


Pannonians,  476. 
Patient   Grizzle,   25, 
Pattisca,   134. 
Paulus,  514. 
Pedersen.  12,  14. 
Pepin,  535. 
Perm,  120.  182. 
Permland,  336,  555. 
Phantoms,  136. 
Phlegethon.    171. 
Pictland,   548. 
Pluto.   171.   482. 
Polonius,   588. 
Polyphemus,  52. 


Pope  of  Rome.  570. 
Pore-Vitus,  585. 
Porenutius.  585. 
Prince  of  Saxony,  30. 
Prosepine,    190. 


Rabelais,  24. 

Ragnald,  39,  427,  445. 

Ragnar,  19,  26,  38,  64,  135,  274, 

305,  411,  541. 
Ragnhild,  118. 
Rain,  603. 
Rand,  468. 
Rati,  471. 
Redward.  468. 
Ref,  38,  533. 

535. 


319. 


35. 


Ref-Gild,  38, 

Regnald,  476 

Rennes-Isle, 

Rethyr,  474. 

Rhine,  143. 

Richard   II., 

Rin,  494. 

Ring,  100,  468,  477,  541. 

Rodbard,  476,  545. 

Roe.  471. 

Roldcr  Toe-joint.  474. 

Rolf,  154.  174. 

Rolf  the  Uxorious,  474. 

Roliung.  384. 

Roller.    271.   305. 

Romans.   364,  535. 

Rome,  80,  82.  555. 

Rorik.  20.  445. 

Rosencrantz,   590. 

Roskild,    150. 

Roster,  193. 

Rostioph.  192. 

Rote,  406. 

Rotel,   133. 

Riigen,  514,  579,  584. 

Rusila    (Rusla)    the    .\mazon, 

258,   459,  487. 
Russian.   140,   367. 
Rute,   158,   173. 
Ruthenians,  131.  192. 
Rydberg,   Dr.,  69. 


6i5 


INDEX 


Salgard,  471. 

Sail,    474. 

Salman,    594. 

Sambar,   471. 

Sangals,   369. 

Satyrs,  136,  179. 

Saxo  the  Splitter,  474. 

Saxo's   Hamlet.   587. 

Saxons.   363,   370,  535,  578. 

SchousboUe,  14. 

Sciold,  30,  32,   69,   94. 

Sclavonia,  582. 

Scot,   142,  148,  234,  444. 

Scotland,   148,   230. 

Scvthians,  553. 

Sembs,   369,   554. 

Semgala,  494. 

Senlake,    35. 

Serker,  473. 

Shakespeare,  587. 

Shield-Maidens,  45. 

Sibb,  497. 

Sidonians,  43. 

Sigar,  427. 

Sigfrid,  7,  47,  51. 

Sigmund.  473. 

Signe,  100,  409,  427. 

Sigrid,  422. 

Sigtryg,  95,  97,  99. 

Siwald,  417,   508. 

Siwaldson,  64. 

Siwar,  453. 

Siward,  28,  39,  389,  539,  566. 

Skiold,  93. 

Skioldungs,  93. 

Skaane,  79,  84,  23G.  473. 

Skalk,  151,  164,  471.  479. 

Skanian,  444.  477.  539. 

Skat,  93,  142.  148. 

Skate,    30,   466. 

Sklavia,   151,   314. 

Skrap,  252. 

Skric-Finns,  88. 

Skroter,  271. 

Skulde,  160. 

Skumbar,  474. 


Slavs.  199.  314. 

Sleswik,  239,  562. 

Snake-eye,  548. 

Snio,  508,  584. 

Snow-skates,   336. 

Snyrtir,  170. 

Solwe,   474. 

Sora,  5. 

Sorle,  550. 

Soth,  479. 

Sperling,  16. 

Spring  of  Carnage,  443. 

Stad,   151. 

Stamford   Bridge,  35. 

Stanitia,   583. 

Starkad  or  Starcad,  20,  2?.,  30, 

68,  362,  441,  471,  492. 
St.   Bertin,  44. 
Steenstrup,    45. 
Stenbiorn,  349. 
Stephanus,  13. 
Stikla,   459. 
Storwerk,   362. 
St.  Patrick,  21. 
Styr  the  Stout,  474. 
Stnmik,  315. 
Styx,   106,  452. 
Suaebiorn,    592,    599. 
Suanto  Vitus.  579. 
Sueno  Aggonis,  5. 
Sumble,  100. 
Sun,   331. 
Sundmor,  327. 
Susa,   444. 

Svein  the  Top-Shorn,  474. 
Svend,  5,  10. 
Swanhild,  506. 
Swanhwid,    135,   137,   153. 
Swanloga,  550. 
Swanwhite,  26. 
Swarin,  30. 
Swart-ones,  136. 
Sweden,  85,  88,  102.  153,  331. 
Swerting,   362,   372,   391. 
Sweyn,  5.  471,  582. 
Swipdag,  70,  102,   109,  368. 
Syfrid,  123. 
Syrik,  151. 


6i6 


INDEX 


Talkar,    474. 

Tamerlane,  594. 

Tanne,  30. 

Tarquin,   597. 

Tatar,  471. 

Tellemark,  35G.  461,  480. 

Teuton.s,   92,   370. 

Thengel  the  Tall,  474. 

Thengil,   330. 

Theseus,    27. 

Thidree,   60. 

Thiodwulf,  19. 

Thiririkar,  476. 

Thoke,  475. 

Thole,  30,  488. 

Thor,  46,  47,   50,   138,   184,  364, 

415. 
Thor  the  Long,  327. 
Thora,  63,  151,  185,  543. 
Thorbiorn,  349. 
Thore,  415,  4o7. 
Thorey,   151. 
Thorhild,   135,   140,  421. 
Thorguy,  471. 
Thorias,   488. 
Thorkill,   55,   480,   510. 
Thorlief,   474. 
Thorolf  the  Thick,  474. 
Thorstan,   603. 
Thorvvig,  471. 
Thott,   484. 
Thrand,  475. 
Thriiig.   475. 
Throndham,  41. 
Thronds,  459. 
Thrygir,   476. 
Thule,  81,  471,  475. 
Thuning,  120. 
Thuriswend,    28. 
Thyra,   571. 
Titan,   358. 
Tok,  462. 
Toke,  417,  577. 
Toki,  39. 
Toli.   472. 
Torweil,   476. 
Teste,  30,  123,  467. 


Tovi,  474. 

Trannon,  132. 

Tristram,  593. 

Tryggwason,    603. 

Tummi  the  Sail-Maker,  472. 

U 

Ubbe,  30,  140,  202,  480,  552. 

Uelschow,   13. 

Uhland,    590. 

Uffe,  30.    114,  120,  328. 

Ulf,    474,   533. 

Ulfhild,    125,    409. 

Unfoot,    52,    350. 

Ung,   477. 

Upsala,   48,   113.   121.    18«,   367. 

Urfe,   151. 

Urne.  Lave.  8. 

Urne,   Bishop,  16. 

Urse.   154. 

Usher's  Well,  55. 

Utgard,    560. 

Utgard-Loki,  526. 


Vaarnsland.  84. 

N'alcrius   Maximus,   17,   42,  576, 

\'cIschow.    13. 

Vespasiiis,    134. 

Vigfiissen,   15,  39,  598. 

Virgil,  17. 

W 

Wacrc,    346. 
W'agnhnfde,   102,   113. 
Wainhcad,   39. 
War-god,   162. 
Walbrnnna,   443. 
Waklemar,  7,   10,  81,  84. 
Wasce,   30.   370. 
Waskc,  495. 
Webiorg,   472.    479. 
Wecha.    4S,    194. 
Wermland,   331,  474. 
Wermund,   238,   428. 
Werms,    464. 
Werund,  476. 


6i; 


INDEX 


Wesete.  456. 

Westmar,  262. 

Whitesark,  19. 

Wienie   Mere,  474. 

Wig,  160,  174,  239. 

Wigar,  441. 

Wigg,  174. 

Wigbiorg,  45. 

Wiglek,   236. 

Wik,    331,    344,   476. 

Wikar,    365,    456. 

William  the  Conqueror,  37. 

Wilzce,   370. 

Wisna,  45,  472,  478. 

Wisin,   30,  369. 

Windar,  474. 

Wind-hat,    560. 

Witches,  136. 

Withne,  484. 


Witolf,   414. 

Wivil,  476. 

Woden,  21,  48,  50,   60,  72. 

Wollin,    472. 

Woodland  Spirits,  136. 

Wrynda,  48,   192. 


Xerxes,  40. 


Yggr,  47. 
Ymi,  472. 
Yngwin,  422. 


I  Zealand,  84,  175,  277,  346,  539. 


6xS 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


It*— 


QL  JP^' 
JAN  21 1987 


1  f^'  -^00 


'J 


J    llbtt   UUZb4   clUt59 


1